Anvita Ranjan, Symbiosis Law School, Pune, Symbiosis International (Deemed) University
Abstract
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 is the foremost legislation in our legal system which provides for the safeguards and aids duly required by women at, and around the time of their pregnancy. The Code on Social Security 2020, when it will be enacted, will subsume the Maternity Benefit Act and modify its features. However, it is important to assess the drawbacks and the problems faced by the original Act, to analyse them and implement some changes in the fresh legislation to ensure that the benefits provided for the betterment of women themselves, do not result in them being at a disadvantage.
The legislative comment includes analysis of the Act from the time of its early inception and how the Act has been time and again amended and upgraded for the advancement of women. It also includes the opinion of the Judiciary in the matter, and how their pronouncements have shaped the interpretation of the Act. Finally, it provides for several suggestions and recommendations for the improvement of the Act which must be incorporated and implemented into the upcoming Code. Additionally, the paper also sheds some importance of the need of presence of paternity benefits in our country. It is found that many small to medium corporations, which are not able to keep up with the requirements of the Act, stick to not employing women, which is contrary to the aim of the Act. Therefore, steps need to be taken to alleviate such defects so that the condition of our country in this aspect is not only good on paper, but in practical reality.
