13 May 2021 Child adoption in India
Child adoption
Context
How to adopt a child legally( the Hindu)
Background
There are no unwanted children, just unfound families.
Under Indian law adoption is legal coalition between the party willing for adoption and a child, it forms the subject matter of ‘personal law’ where Hindu, Buddhist, Jaina or Sikh by religion can make a legal adoption
■ In India there is no separate adoption laws for Muslims, Christians and Parsis, so they have to approach court under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 for legal adoption.
■ Personal laws of Muslim, Christian, Parsis and Jews do not recognise complete adoption so if a person belonging to such religion has a desire to adopt a child can take the guardianship of a child
under section 8 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890
■ As per the Supreme Court Guidelines for intercountry adoption a foreign parent can adopt an Indian child before he/she completes the age of 3 years. In the absence of any concrete Act on intercountry adoption, the provisions of Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 will be followed for adoption
■ In case of adoption of abandoned, abused and surrendered children all intercountry adoptions shall be done only as per the provisions THE JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN) ACT, 2015 and the adoption regulations framed by the Authority.
– A single male is not eligible to adopt a girl child.
– No child shall be given to any couple until they have atleast two years of stable a.martial
relationships.
– The minimum age difference between the adoptive child and the parents should not be less than twenty five years.
■ Guardians and Wards Act, 1890 remains silent about the adoption of orphans, abandoned and surrendered children
Following individual can be adopted
■ As per the Hindu law following child may be adopted namely-
– The child can either be a girl or a boy if he/she is a Hindu. – He/ She has not been adopted before.
– The age of the child is below 15 years.
– The child should not be married.
■ As per the Guardianship law and The Juvenile Justice (Care and protection of children) ACT, 2015 following child may be adopted namely-
– Who is not a Hindu
– Who is minor (not completed the age of 18 years).
– An orphan or abandoned or surrendered child.
CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority)
■ Cara is a statutory body under the ministry of women and child development, Government of India. It functions as the central or nodal body of the adoption of Indian children and monitors the in-country and inter-country adoptions.
– Who can adopt
■ A single woman (unmarried, widow, divorcee) or married couple;
■ A non-resident Indian;
■ Foreign citizen.
Rights: Inheritance rights of the adoptive child
■ An adoptive child is treated the same as a biological child of his or her adoptive parents. According to law, the adoptive child has the same legal rights to benefit from the property as that of a biological child. The adoptive child can claim stakes on their adoptive parents property.
■ But according to Hindu adoption and maintenance act the adoptive child loses rights from their biological parents once they are adopted. They cannot claim any rights from their adoptive parents or coparceners. If the parent of the adoptive child is disqualified from any ancestral property in general then in that case the child adopted cannot claim their stake on it.
Case of India: Child Adoption in India
■ According to UNICEF, India has over 30 million orphan and abandoned children
■ The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) law was enacted in 2015
■ The Juvenile Justice Rules of 2016 and the Adoption Regulations of 2017 followed to create the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) as a statutory body for the regulation, monitoring and control of all intra-country and inter-country adoptions.
■ CARA became pivotal in granting a ‘no objection’ certificate for all inter-country adoptions, pursuant to India becoming a signatory to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoptions
■ India is also a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Yojna IAS Current Affairs Team
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