New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the central government to consider and decide within six months a plea seeking exemption of adult diapers from the levy of GST.
A bench of Justices Nitin W Sambre and Ajay Digpaul passed the order on a petition challenging the “arbitrary and discriminatory” levy of 5 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on adult/clinical diapers.
Senior counsel for the petitioners argued that an adult diaper was not a luxury item and is used by a highly vulnerable population. There was no reason to levy GST on adult diapers when sanitary pads, which are also a hygiene product, have been exempted, she said.
“There is no real intelligible differentia between the use of a sanitary pad and an adult diaper. It is something you can’t live without if you require it. It is a hygiene product you have to have access to. Your life is without dignity without it,” she said.
The petitioners — persons with disabilities — had sent a representation to the authorities on September 3, 2025, which remains undecided.
“We deem it appropriate to direct the respondent to consider and decide dated September 3, 2025, by the petitioner, including the pleadings raised in the petition, and communicate its decision within a reasonable period, which in our opinion shall be six months,” ordered the bench.
The counsel for the authorities said the levy of GST was a policy decision which could not be taken “unilaterally”. The issue, he said, had to be considered by the GST council.
In their petition, Swarnalatha J and T S Guruprasad said sanitary napkins were rightly exempted from the levy of GST in 2018, and a similar relief should also be extended for adult diapers, as the rationale behind such exemption is to ensure affordability and avoid discouraging their use.
“The burden of GST on adult diapers disproportionately falls on the most vulnerable members of society i.e. PwDs, elderly individuals, and those suffering from chronic illnesses,” the petition submitted.
“Adult/clinical diapers are required by them daily, lifelong in many cases, and in significant quantities. They are not luxury items but essential sanitation and hygiene support products,” it said.
The petition contended that the GST exemption only to sanitary napkins and not to adult diapers is without any reasonable basis or classification, as both are essential for hygiene, sanitation and managing bodily functions with dignity.
“As such, non-exemption to adult/clinical diapers from the GST is manifestly arbitrary, discriminatory, and violative of the Petitioners under Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution, as well as under the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act,” the petition said.
