India, March 18 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday urged the Centre to come up with a law recognising paternity leave as a social security benefit, observing that parenthood is not a solitary function and while the mother is central to a child's development, it would be unjust to overlook the role of the father.

The apex court's observations came while striking down a law under which a woman was eligible for maternity leave if she legally adopts a child below the age of three months. The court held that an adoptive mother should be entitled to maternity leave of 12 weeks, irrespective of the age of the adopted child.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan also emphasised that a provision of paternity leave helps in dismantling g...