New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea seeking menstrual leave for female employees, saying doing so may lead to women being shunned from the workforce.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said emphasised that the matter, rather than judicial intervention, requires deliberation at government policy level.
“We do not want that what we try to do to protect women, can act to their disadvantage”, said the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The apex court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation calling for the establishment of menstrual leave policies by the central and state governments.
The CJI said while the policy may encourage women to participate more in the workforce, there is a flip side: it may dissuade employers from engaging women in their workforce.
The bench said that it is actually a government policy aspect and not for the courts to look into, and the matter needs to be attended by the Union of India and states. However, the bench asked the central government to engage in discussions with all relevant stakeholders’ and state governments to formulate a model policy on this matter.
The bench said the matter pertains to multiple policy aspects and there is no reason for the court to intervene. "We permit the petitioner to move the secretary in the Ministry of Women and Child Development…," said the bench, in its order, adding that a copy of the petition be shared with additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, who has assisted the court in similar other matters.
"We request the secretary (Ministry of Women and Child Development) to look into the matter at the policy level and take a decision after consulting all stakeholders (both Union and states) and see if a model policy can be framed….," said the bench, in its order.
The bench said its order would not stand in the way of any state governments taking appropriate decisions bearing in mind the welfare of the concerned employees.
In February this year, the apex court had taken a similar stand regarding a petition seeking a direction to all states to frame rules for menstrual pain leave for women students and employees. The apex court had said that the matter falls in the policy domain. Currently, Bihar and Kerala are the only two states in the country that have a provision for menstrual leave.
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