Introduction

In any egalitarian society, inclusion is a fundamental aspect. A progressive society moves towards betterment of its population by including the groups, people, communities, etc. who were not part of mainstream discourse. By ensuring the rights of everyone regardless of any gender, age, place of birth, sex, religion, race, or any other discrimination factor are venerated. Paternity Leave is one such issue that has not been given significant importance in India. It is rhetorical as society is moving towards giving an increased Women representation in governance while laws carry the same patriarchal spirit that only women are entitled to a longer Maternity Leave as they have sole responsibility towards nurturing of the child. The law carries and pushes the stereotype that male are not required in the early days of their child’s growth. 

Recently, the Supreme Court in Hamsanandani Nanduri v. U.O.I, Justice Pardiwala made following observations: “Although the father is present at the periphery of infancy, yet he is not present in the intimate and irreplaceable way that society has always presumed the mother must be. This acceptance of absence has seldom been examined with the seriousness it deserves… The absence of a father during the formative years of a child’s life, particularly due to employment constraints, deprives both the child and the parent of the opportunity to form these early bonds.” Thereby making significant remarks related to Paternity Leave.

In this article, we will examine the concept of paternity leave in India, discussing laws both national and international and then examining paternity leave from the lens of Feminist jurists.

Paternity leave and international standards

Convention on the Rights of the Child

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (hereinafter referred to as CRC) is a convention which acknowledges and recognizes human rights of the children. 

The Preamble of the Convention acknowledges that the child is entitled to special care (para 4) and family is the fundamental group of society responsible for the well-being of its members, especially children. Therefore, family should be afforded necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibility (Para 5). 

Article 7 of the Convention provides that the child has a right from birth to be cared for by his or her parents. 

Further, Article 18 provides that State parties shall ensure recognition of the principle that both parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing and development of the child. Parents have the primary responsibility for the upbringing and development of the child and States shall provide appropriate assistance to parents in performance of their child rearing duties.

Therefore, the CRC explicitly recognizes that the role of both the parents is significant in the care and upbringing of the child. A child is not a responsibility of one parent, but of both and the Convention lays the responsibility on the State Parties to recognize common responsibility of both parents as a principle under their domestic laws and provide necessary assistance so that this responsibility can be discharged by parents in the best interest of the child. 

 Therefore, India being a signatory must consider formulating a law providing for paternity leave, which will facilitate both the parents including a man to discharge his duty towards his child. 

Paternity leave is not only a right of the parent, but it also involves the right of the child to receive care of both the parents as is recognised by CRC.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 (ICESCR):

The Convention deals with the economic, social and cultural rights of human beings. Article 10 (1) of the Convention provides that “The widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the family, which is the natural and fundamental group unit of society, particularly for its establishment and while it is responsible for the care and education of dependent children”. 

This provision further, complementing CRC, forms a reasonable basis for the provision of paternity leave as it lays a duty on the States to provide assistance to family when it is responsible for the care of the children. It must not be ignored that both the parents are equally responsible for the care of the child and the family includes fathers too. 

International Labour Organisation 

ILO promotes the countries to develop and evolve laws related to paternity leave through its various reports and studies. Two relevant reports of ILO in this context are: Maternity and Paternity at work: Law and Practice across the world (2014) which analyses laws of 185 countries related to paternity benefit, Closing the gender gap in paid parental leaves (ILO Policy Brief 2025) which reiterates that the provision of paternity leave is essential to ensure gender equality at work and better balancing of maternal and paternal leave will close gender gaps that exist. The study also provides guidance on how countries can promote equality and fairness by introducing gender-responsive paid parental leaves to both the parents. 

The policies of ILO not only promote nations to take steps towards evolving laws providing for paternity leave, but also to encourage the employees to take benefit of such provision in order to ensure effectiveness of the provision and for the well-being of the child and mother. 

Paternity Leave Laws in India

The number of laws containing provisions related to paternity leave is scarce. The Indian laws largely emphasise on maternity leave. However, there are some laws which provide for paternity leave, but the scope of application of these laws is limited in nature. 

For instance, there is Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 which provides for paternity leave. However, it applies only to Government servants appointed to the civil services and posts in connection with the affairs of the union and not on private employees.

Some of the states which have formulated policies for the purpose of providing paternity benefit under their State rules, includes Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Private companies and institutions also provide for paternity leave in India. However, it can be noted here that there is a lack of uniformity in such rules. Also, the leave which has been provided for under the existing laws, includes a very less time period, which seems to be a mere formality.

Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 [(CCS Leave) Rules]:

It is one of the most important laws which provides for paternity leave. Rule 43-A and 43-AA provides for paid paternity leave.

Scope of this rule is limited to the government servant appointed to the civil services and posts in connection with the affairs of the union. Rule 43-A provides that a male government servant may be granted 15 days paternity leave. However, there is a condition here, that he must not be having two surviving children at that time. It means that this leave can be granted only till the birth of two children and not afterwards. 15 days leave can either be granted 15 days before the date of the delivery of the child or within 6 months of the date of the delivery of the child. Sub-rule 2 further provides that it will be a paid leave. 

Rule 43-AA provides for paternity leave in case of adoption. If a male civil servant is accepting a child in pre-adoption foster care, or valid adoption of a child below the age of one year, he may be granted paternity leave of 15 days within 6 months of the date of accepting or adoption of such child. 

Therefore, the Rules provide for a maximum 15 days paternity leave to male government servants.  

Paternity leave rules in private sectors:

There are no uniform and mandatory paternity leave rules in private sectors. 

However, many of the private companies do provide for paternity leave. For instance, IKEA offers four weeks, Novartis and Zomato offer 26 weeks, TESCO PLC provides for 6 weeks and TATA Steel provides for 15 days of paid paternity leave.

Further, when we talk about the unorganized sector in India, these sectors lack the concept of paid leave itself. In such a case, provision of paternity leave is a huge demand.

 Therefore, the majority of working men are deprived of paternity benefits in connection to childbirth. 

New Labour Codes:

Recently,  four new labour Codes have been enacted in India with the object of modernizing and consolidating 29 old Labour Laws. These Codes include the Codes on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.  These Codes came into effect from November 21, 2025.

 However, none of these laws provides for mandatory paternity leave provisions. Code on Social Security, 2020 contains provision as to maternity leave, but no such provision of paid leave has been included for male employees. 

Recent Supreme Court Judgments

Hamsanandani Nanduri v. Union Of India [Writ Petition (C) NO. 960 of 2021]- In this case, the Supreme Court (bench of Mahadevan j. and Pardiwala j.) held Section 20(4) of the Social Security Code, 2020 as unconstitutional and held that the adoptive mothers are eligible for maternity benefit irrespective of the age of the child. 

The Court further calls upon the Union to formulate a law recognizing paternity leave as a social security benefit and the duration to be determined in accordance with the needs of both the parents. (17 March 2026)

Rakesh Malik v. State of Haryana and Ors. (CWP No.3225 of 2013)- In this case, the petitioner was a JBT teacher and filed a writ petition praying the Court to issue a writ of mandamus to the respondent authorities to grant him paternity leave, however, there was no such statutory mandate existing at that time to grant such leave. Therefore, the Court directed the petitioner to approach the respondent authority for the leave and as the matter was related to policy making, it refused to intervene.  

Chander Mohan Jain v. N.K Bagrodia Public School [W. P. (C) No. 8104 of 2009]- In this case, the petitioner approached Delhi High Court challenging the rejection of paternity leave application of the petitioner and deduction of his salary by the private school in which he was a teacher. 

Therefore, in this case, the Delhi High Court held that the male employees of unaided recognized private schools are entitled to paternity leave as per CCS (Leave Rules), 1972. The Court further clarified that, as all the unaided recognized schools are running under the control of the Director of Education as per DSEAR, 1973, all rules of Government Schools of Delhi applied to unaided recognized Public Schools in accordance with the Government schools of Delhi.

Attempts towards formulation paternity benefit laws in India:

In the light of rising demands and discussions pertaining to paternity rights and benefits, emphasis on the role of father in the development and care of a child and the mother and the idea of shared parenting, various attempts have been made to bring a law relating to paternity benefit in India. Some of the attempts include the Paternity Benefit Bill, 2017, The Paternity Benefit Bill, 2019 and  Parental Benefit Bill, 2025.

The Bill of 2017 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by MP Rajeev Satav. The Bill aimed to fill the gap in the laws related to parental benefit by providing for paternity leave and other such benefits associated with the child birth for the male employees in India both in the public and private sector. 

It provided for paternity benefit for a maximum period of 15 days in which more than 7 days should not be before the birth of the child. The Bill further stated that the Central Government should also devise a paternal benefit scheme so as to confer paternity benefit on each and every male employee of India. The Bill contained provision related to establishment of Parental Scheme Benefit Fund for the fulfilment of the objects of the Act. The Bill, taking a progressive move, provided for paternity leave in cases of miscarriage (7 days leave after the occurrence of the incident).

However, the Bill was not passed by the Parliament and never became an Act. After that, there has been an extensive debate for revival of the Bill.

The Bill of 2019 was introduced in the Parliament by MP S. Jothimani. This Bill provided for paternity benefit for maximum for 15 weeks of which not more than seven weeks shall precede the date of the expected delivery and contained other provisions such as leave for miscarriage and adoption.

The Bill of 2025 has been introduced in the Parliament by MP Supriya Sule on 5 December 2025 providing for the maximum paternity leave of 8 weeks of which not more than a week shall precede the date of his legally wedded wife’s expected delivery. 

However, in the case of two or more than two surviving children, the maximum period of such leave should be 5 weeks. In the case where a man legally adopts a child below the age of 3 months or a commissioning father be entitled to paternity benefit for a period of 8 weeks from the date child is handed over to the adopting father or the commissioning father, as the case may be.

Paternity Leave from a Feminist Lens

Simone de Beauvoir’s famous observation, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman,”  encapsulates the central feminist critique of gender as a social construct. This social engineering prescribes rigid, sex-based roles that extend beyond biological reality, creating not just the ‘woman’ as the primary caregiver, but also the ‘man’ as the exclusive economic provider. It is this institutionalized division of labour that feminist jurisprudence fundamentally challenges, seeking to dismantle these standards to achieve substantive equality and justice, particularly in the context of legal frameworks like paternity leave.

Therefore, the central argument is that Paternity Leave can essentially divide labour, ensuring that fathers also take proportionate responsibility in child care. Japan is one such country that exceptionally works towards this measure. In Japan, fathers can take four weeks of leave during the first 8 weeks of birth. This rule is instrumental in Japan as it ensures that the entities employing a workforce exceeding 1,000 personnel are mandated to furnish annual disclosures regarding the utilization of childcare leave by their employees. It encourages the parents to share responsibilities and does not burden a gender because of stereotypes.

Furthermore, paternity leave serves as a crucial mechanism to mitigate workplace discrimination. When childcare responsibilities are disproportionately assigned to women, employers may perceive them as a higher financial or operational risk due to potential absences for maternity leave. This perception can lead to systemic biases in hiring, promotion, and wage-setting. By institutionalizing paternity leave, the legal framework normalizes the role of fathers as active caregivers, thereby distributing the perceived “burden” of parental leave more equitably across the workforce and reducing the gender-based doubts that often hinder women’s professional advancement.

Conclusion

Based on the above discussion, it can be concluded that in a country like India, where equality forms an essential part of our democracy, it is necessary to recognize the equal and shared responsibility of both the parents in the upbringing of the child. This orthodox notion which puts the responsibility of caring and nurturing of the child only on the shoulders of women and treating men merely as a side support needs to be dismantled. It must be understood by the society that care and development of a child is the responsibility of the family, where both parents play an equal and a crucial role.

Providing a long period of maternity leave and lesser or no provision for paternity leave supports this orthodox mindset. This jeopardises the working life of the men and women, both. Therefore, this is the time to make Indian laws more gender responsive so that it can bring reform in the traditional notions of the society and recognise the role of men in caring and nurturing of the child.

Recognising paternity rights of men and providing them sufficient leave will also improve family structure of the Indian society, where men can readily be available for his family in the time of need and can develop a strong bond of care and love with the new born child. At the same time he can care for the new mother, when it will be needed the most. Further, it will also bring equality in the workplace, where employers will not fear for loss by employing women in the jobs as he will have to provide compulsory leave to both men and women for discharging parental duties. 

Therefore, there is a need to transform Indian laws making paid paternity leave mandatory. This does not only concern the rights of the parents, but also the right of a child to get the love and care of both the parents.

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This article is written by Astha Priya and Jeet Sinha.