Madras High Court Seeks State's Response On Plea For Paid Menstrual Leave Policy

The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to respond to a plea seeking to frame a comprehensive paid menstrual leave policy for the women employees in Government Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, government educational institutions, allied establishments and special guidelines for private institutions. The bench of Justice N Satish Kumar and Justice M Jothiraman has asked the State to respond to the plea. As an interim direction, the plea also seeks to set up a State-level committee for examining the issue of menstrual health support measures, including the feasibility of menstrual leave or any other suitable workplace accommodation for women employees in Government Departments and Government-aided institutions. The plea has been filed by Narmadha, a lab technician working in the Department of Health and Preventive Medicine, Madurai. In her plea, Narmadha stated that after joining work, she noticed that many women in her own department and other women who came as patients suffered from menstrual cramps, and there were no effective policies to support such a condition. Narmadha stated that upon RTI inquiry, she was informed that the State did not have any menstrual policy, prompting her to file a representation with the authorities and approach the court. The plea states that menstruation is a natural biological process, and lack of institutional support or leave during the period of severe menstrual pain amounts to compelling women to work in conditions that undermine their dignity, physical well-being and mental health, which runs counter to the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. The plea also stated that the State's failure to provide humane and gender-sensitive working conditions violates Article 42 of the Constitution, which mandates the State to ensure just and humane working conditions. It has also been stated that the absence of a menstrual leave policy is indirect discrimination against women employees, violating Article 14 of the Constitution, since women alone have to bear the burden and are compelled to either suffer wage loss or work through debilitating pain. The plea further states that, since menstruation is a monthly biological condition, the existing leave policy of casual leave or sick leave is wholly inadequate, as women would be forced to exhaust their leave entitlements, affecting their service conditions unfairly. The plea states that menstrual leave is not a concession or privilege but a public health and labour welfare measure recognised globally, and the State's failure to acknowledge the same amounts to abdication of its duty under Article 4 of the Constitution, to improve public health. Case Title: M Narmatha v. State of Tamil Nadu and Others Case No: WP (MD) 6333 of 2026

Madras High Court Seeks State's Response On Plea For Paid Menstrual Leave Policy

Upasana Sajeev

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