Home  /  Code on Social Security, 2020  /  Section 63

Section 63: Payment of medical bonus

The Code on Social Security, 2020 (Act No. 36 of 2020) • Official Statutory Text & Plain English Practice Guide

Statutory Mandate
Chapter VI: Maternity Benefit
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 36 of 2020
Section 62 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 64

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 63

Section 63 of the Code establishes the statutory entitlement to a medical bonus, requiring the employer to pay a cash medical bonus (not less than three thousand five hundred rupees, or higher notified amount) to a woman entitled to maternity benefit if no pre-natal and post-natal care is provided free of charge.

  • Mandatory Cash Medical Bonus: Creates an enforceable right to receive an additional cash medical bonus to defray delivery and clinical costs.
  • Exemption for Free In-House Medical Care: Relieves the employer from the medical bonus obligation only if the employer provides comprehensive free pre-natal and post-natal medical care in an in-house hospital or through full insurance reimbursement.
  • Triennial Executive Upward Revision: Empowers the Central Government to increase the medical bonus amount triennially by Gazette notification to reflect healthcare inflation.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Female Workers (Muster Roll) (2000) 3 SCC 224: Supreme Court held that the medical bonus is a vital component of constitutional maternity protection ensuring safe clinical delivery.
  • B. Shah v. Presiding Officer, Labour Court (1977) 4 SCC 384: Affirmed that statutory medical allowances must be disbursed in full alongside basic maternity wages.
  • Consumer Education & Research Centre v. Union of India (1995) 3 SCC 42: Affirmed that maternal and reproductive healthcare costs are protected under the constitutional right to health under Article 21.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Include the statutory medical bonus automatically in the first post-natal maternity disbursement unless the company operates an accredited hospital providing 100% free delivery care; do not require separate voucher claims for the medical bonus.

Section 62 All 163 Sections of Code on Social Security, 2020 Section 64