PIL Seeking Menstrual Leave Filed Before Supreme Court, Cites Examples Of Zomato, Byju’s

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed on January 10, 2023, in the Supreme Court seeking menstrual leave for both students and working women across India. The petition, filed by Advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, urged the court to direct State governments to implement the same in companies and schools in the states.

Citing a study by the University College London which claimed that the amount of pain a female goes through during menstruation is equivalent to the pain a person experiences during a heart attack, the petition was filed before the court. Arguing that such pain can reduce an employee’s productivity and affects their work, Tripathi also stated that some Indian companies such as Ivipanan, Zomato, Byju’s, Swiggy, Mathrubhumi, Magzter, ARC, FlyMyBiz, and Gozoop offer paid period leaves.

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Despite medical research on how painful the experience can be, not granting menstrual leave is a violation of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, as per the petitioner. Article 14 is an anti-discrimination clause that states that the state shall not deny equality to any person before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the country.

"It is accordingly a violation of Article 14 inasmuch as this Act differentiates women in the name of federalism and state policies. Despite that women suffer from similar physiological and health issues during their menstrual cycles, they are being treated differently in different states of India. However, women, having one citizenship, i.e., of India, must be treated equally and shall be conferred with equal right,” the petition stated.

The petition highlighted the Menstruation Benefit Bill or the Women’s Sexual, Reproductive and Menstrual Rights Bill introduced by Congress MP Dr. Shashi Tharoor back in 2017. The Bill proposed the free availability of sanitary pads for women by public authorities on their premises and providing working women in public and private jobs two days of paid menstrual leave per month. The Bill was represented in the Parliament once again on the first day of Budget Session 2022 but the Legislative Assembly reportedly dismissed it as an ‘unclean’ topic.

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On the basis that the United Kingdom, Wales, China, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, Spain, and Zambia are already providing women with menstrual pain leave in one form or another, the petitioner said that the Delhi High Court directed centre and Delhi Government to consider PIL seeking menstrual leave as representation. However, the petition mentioned that “Union Minister Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply in Lok Sabha said that the “Central Civil Service (Leave) Rules 1972 do not have any provisions for menstrual leave and presently there.”