Supreme Court to hear on February 24 PIL seeking menstrual pain leave

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking menstrual pain leave for female students and working women across India [Shailendra Mani Tripathi v. Union of India and Ors.].The plea was mentioned before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, who listed it for hearing on February 24..The petition, mentioned today by advocate Vishal Tiwari, said that menstrual periods have been largely disregarded by society, the government and other stakeholders, but some organizations and State governments have taken notice. It specifically mentioned companies such as Ivipanan, Zomato, Byju's, Swiggy, Mathrubhumi, Magzter, Industry, ARC, FlyMyBiz, and Gozoop, which provide paid period leaves..The petitioner, therefore, urged the top court to direct state governments to establish regulations for menstrual pain leave. The petition also called for the effective implementation of Section 14 of the Maternity Benefit Act, which involves the appointment of inspectors to enforce the Act's provisions. The petition further said that, according to online research, only Meghalaya had issued a notification in 2014 for the appointment of such officers and that Bihar was the only state in India that provided special menstrual pain leave as part of a 1992 policy. .The petitioner contended that denial of menstrual pain leave or period leave for women in the remaining states was a violation of their right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution. .He also alleged a lack of legislative will to address the concept of menstrual pain leave and called for the Supreme Court's intervention, pointing out that various other countries, including the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, Spain, and Zambia, were already providing menstrual pain leave in some form.