First of all, you should ensure whether you are covered under the Maternity Benefit Act or ESIC or not covered by both. Subject to this condition, it's illegal for your bosses to use these excuses. The Act is very clear, and there is no ambiguity. You should also know the legal provisions so that you can approach the concerned parties with clarity.
Maternity Leave
The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2016, passed by the Rajya Sabha in August 2016, was also passed by the Lok Sabha in March 2017, becoming a law applicable to establishments all over India (for those covered under the ESIC Act, this MB Act will not apply). Under the new law, maternity leave is raised from the current 12 weeks to 26 weeks. The prenatal leave is also extended from six to eight weeks. However, a woman with two or more children is entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave. The prenatal leave in this case remains six weeks.
The Act also provides for adoption leave of 12 weeks for a woman who adopts a child under the age of three months. A commissioning mother is also entitled to a 12-week leave from the date the child is handed over to her. A commissioning mother is defined as a "biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in any other woman" (the woman who gives birth to the child is called the host or surrogate mother).
The Act further requires an employer to inform a woman worker of her rights under the Act at the time of her appointment. The information must be given in writing and in electronic form (email). Female civil servants are entitled to maternity leave for a period of 180 days for their first two live-born children.
Before March 2017, the law provided the following rights. According to the Maternity Benefit Act, female workers were entitled to a maximum of 12 weeks (84 days) of maternity leave. Out of these 12 weeks, six weeks of leave is post-natal leave (before actual delivery). In case of miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy, a worker is entitled to six weeks of paid maternity leave. Employees are also entitled to one additional month of paid leave in case of complications arising due to pregnancy, delivery, premature birth, miscarriage, medical termination, or a tubectomy operation (two weeks in this case).
Eligibility
The maternity leave is awarded with full pay on completion of at least 80 days in an establishment in the 12 months prior to her expected date of delivery. The maternity benefit is awarded at the rate of the average daily wage for the period of a worker's actual absence from work. Apart from 12 weeks of salary, a female worker is entitled to a medical bonus of 3,500 Indian rupees.
Section 2(n) definition of wages includes all remuneration, meaning it includes Basic Wages, all such allowances (including dearness allowance and house rent allowance), incentive bonus, and the money value of concessional supply of food grains and other articles. Hence, in your case, the employer is liable to pay the gross salary drawn by you at the time of availing the Maternity Benefit Leave.
Under the National Food Security Act 2013, pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to receive a maternity benefit of at least Rs. 6,000. The Act further requires that, subject to such schemes as may be framed by the Central Government, every pregnant woman and lactating mother will be entitled to free meals during pregnancy and six months after childbirth, through the local Anganwadi, to meet their nutritional needs.
Free Medical Care
A pregnant woman worker is entitled to a maternity benefit (in the form of a medical bonus) of one thousand rupees if no prenatal confinement and post-natal care is provided by the employer free of charge. It can be increased to a maximum limit of twenty thousand rupees. The Central Government is authorized to increase the basic amount every three years. In August 2008, the amount of the medical bonus was Rs. 2500 Indian rupees, which was later raised in 2011 to Rs. 3500 Indian rupees.
-(Ref. of the Maternity Benefits Act 1961 & National Food Security Act 2013). Also, you should go through this link for more info:
https://www.citehr.com/598535-matern...-6-months.html. The full text of the Act is attached for your reference. Also, ensure an appropriate Medical Certificate has been obtained and submitted together with the necessary forms.