The 3-judge bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice SVN Bhatti was hearing an appeal against a Delhi High Court ruling that had restricted maternity benefits to a mere 11-day period, citing the expiration of a contractual agreement The court made the observation on Thursday, August 17, while hearing an appeal against a Delhi High Court ruling. In its order, the Delhi High Court had restricted maternity benefits to a mere 11-day period.
The Delhi High Court had cited a contractual agreement’s expiration while passing the order.
The Supreme Court stated that maternity benefits can travel beyond the term of contractual employment. Hence, the apex court directed the employer to pay maternity benefits as would have been available in terms of Sections 5 and 8 of the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 which an employer is obliged to observe and extend the benefits to eligible employees in accordance with the provisions of Section 5 and Section 8 of the statute.