Childcare leave for women is a constitutional mandate: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court emphasized that denying a woman employee two-year childcare leave, in addition to the mandated 180-day maternity leave, is unconstitutional. This assertion, made by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala, arose during a case involving Shalini Dharmani, an assistant professor in a Himachal Pradesh government college. Dharmani cited her child's rare genetic disorder necessitating prolonged care and surgeries.