Meet the adoptive mom who took on the law, and won

In a significant ruling last week, the Supreme Court held that an adoptive mother should be entitled to maternity leave of 12 weeks irrespective of the age of the adopted child. Earlier, adoptive mothers got maternity leave only if the child was below three months old.

The judgment came as the culmination of a five-year legal battle led by Delhi-based fintech lawyer Hamsaanandini Nanduri.
“That day is still so fresh in my mind. It will always be one of my favourite days.... We were so nervous, so anxious, to see what is in store for us,” recalls Nanduri about that day in Sept 2017 when she and her husband brought home the two siblings they had adopted.