The News Minute | January 7, 2014 | 10:13 am IST The Kerala High Court on Tuesday observed that working women who raise surrogate babies should not be discriminated against while granting maternity leaves and other related benefits, states a report by The New Indian Express. The court made the observation while hearing a petition filed by Geetha, Deputy General of Manager the Kerala Livestock Development Board, challenging her employer’s decision to not provide her maternity leave to look after the baby she got through surrogacy. Her employers declined her leave stating that the organisation rules did not allow providing leave to a woman employee who got a baby through surrogacy.Apart from leave for improving the health of the mother after delivery, the court said that the woman was entitled to all post-delivery benefits. She would also qualify for child specific statutory benefits along with two breaks of the prescribed duration for nursing the child until the child attains the age of 15 months, adds the report. The petitioner's counsel argued that motherhood did not end after delivering a baby, and that responsibilities grew while rearing the child.