15 questions posed to Union, Tamil Nadu government

Chennai: Pointing out that the women’s right to procreate, the maternity benefits including maternity leave and the incidental issues like mother’s feeding and increasing the number of holidays for maternity are to be dealt with, the Madras High Court has posed 15 queries including the one why not this court declares right of newborn to mother’s feeding  up to six months exclusively and up to 2 years along with substitution’s a fundamental right, to be answered by the Union and Tamil Nadu state governments.

Passing orders on a petition from a lady doctor relating to availing maternity leave, Justice N. Kirubakaran suo moto impleaded the Union and state governments and directed them to file their response for his queries and posted to January 22, further hearing of the case through video conferencing.

Queries raised by Madras HC

1 Why not the central government enhances the maternity leave from 180 days to 270 days as done by the TN government?

2 Why not the central government directs the states which have not increased maternity leave at 180 days on parity with central government women employees, to do so within 1 year?

3 Why not the central government invoke Article 249  viz Power of Parliament to legislate in respect of a matter in the state list in the national interest to treat maternity benefits including maternity leave and the right of the child to have breastfeeding as issues of national interest?

4 Why not this court declare the right of newborn to mother’s feeding up to 6 months exclusively and up to 2 years along with substitution’s a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and as a human right as per international treaties?

5 Whether “Creche facility” is provided in the interest of women government employees and their young children to have easy access to child and to feed during office hours in the central as well as state government offices, where more women government employees are serving?

6 Why not the governments come out with special insurance coverage for all women covering maternity risk by making a one-time deduction of a specific amount from the salary of the women employees in the first month of pregnancy and the government itself pay the insurance premium for non-working women?

7 Why not the government makes it mandatory to get an undertaking from the women employees to give maternity benefits including maternity leave, not to have more than two children as a measure of population control, taking into consideration the enormous increase in population in India?

8 Why not the state and central governments insert penal provisions to punish the officials who are not granting maternity leave?

9 Why not the government make it obligatory on the part of the women government servant availing maternity benefits to give breastfeed exclusively to the child at least during the said maternity leave period?

10 Why not both the central and state governments sensitise the masses, especially employed women about the importance of the mother’s feeding in the interest of the children?

11 Why not central government bring an Act making obligatory on the part of women to breastfeed?

12 Whether the provisions of “Infant milk substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act are properly implemented and breastfeeding is promoted?

13 Whether the central and state governments could bring a new law to provide breastfeeding rooms/spaces in public places in the interest of feeding mothers?

14 Why not the governments spend more amount per child, since India only spends a negligible amount less than '10 per child?

15 Why not the governments further improve maternal health services to further reduce maternal mortality rate?