Supreme Court Chief Justice Highlights a Reversal On Menstrual Leave Petition

GG News Bureau

New Delhi, 8th July. The Supreme Court stated today that it is not the place of courts to investigate the possibility that requiring women to take menstruation leave could cause them to be ostracized from the workforce and labor against their will.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud stated at a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) hearing that requiring the Center and states to create menstrual leave policies would cause women to avoid the job. We do not want the efforts we make to safeguard women to backfire on them.”

“This is actually a government policy aspect and not for the courts to look into,” the ruling stated.
The court ruled that there was no justification for its intervention because the matter concerned several different policy areas. “We grant the petitioner permission to speak with Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati and the secretary of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. We want the secretary to investigate the issue at the policy level, make a decision after conferring with all relevant parties, and see if a model policy can be formulated,” the statement continued.

The court declared that no state government action in this area will be impeded by this decision. When a case was filed in February of this year asking for a directive to all states to create guidelines for menstrual discomfort leave for female employees and students, the Supreme Court took a similar stance. The court had declared that the issue was under the purview of policy back then as well.

The only two states in the nation that currently allow menstruation leave are Bihar and Kerala. Kerala allows for a three-day period of vacation for female students, however Bihar only allows women employees to have two days off.