Roopsha Dasguupta  

This is the Daily Edit from the economic times. It's August 30. And we put the focus on family in every shape and form. In a judgment that is progressive, humane and provides a template for society at large to follow. The Supreme Court on Sunday recognized that a typical family units are as real as traditional ones, and deserve equal protection under the law. The court ruled in favor of a working woman being denied her statutory right to maternity leave, because she had earlier availed leave to take care of the children of her husband from his previous marriage. With this, the cord has widened the ambit of family of a single unchanging unit comprising of a mother and father who remain constant over time and their children. In doing so it has given legal recognition to domestic unmarried partnerships, including same sex ones as family units. This is a significant development given the demand from activists to recognize LGBT marriages and civil unions following the 2018 APPIC. Scott judgment, decriminalizing homosexuality, and to allow living couples to adopt the recognition of a typical family units should open the door for adoptions, easing, inheritance rights. These are all issues that will need to be addressed in relevant statutes, and may require further elucidation in law. The judgment is a major step in recognizing in law, that not all family structures are alike, and that families are not constant or unchanging structures. It provides a modicum of legal protection against outright discrimination, particularly in matters such as housing that many single parents or same sex households have had to contend with. Societal acceptance of a typical family units will take time, but the word it creates a level playing field in law, allowing for the protection of rights of all families without discriminating for not being socially typical. You have been listening to Roopsha Dasguupta, tune into et play Economic Times latest platform for all audio content.