Adoption Rights In India: Bombay HC Says A Single, Working Woman Is Eligible To Adopt

On April 13, the Bombay High Court accepted the plea of a working woman to adopt a child. The bench comprising Justice Gauri Godse called the rejection of her application by the Bhusawal District Judge, “unfounded, illegal, perverse, unjust and unacceptable.”

The 47-year-old divorced woman wanted to adopt her sister’s kid. However, the district judge denied her application saying, “Being a working lady… she will not give personal attention to the child.”

Godse also observed that the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act recognises single parents as an adopter. She noted, “The comparison done by the (district) court reflects a mindset of the mediaeval conservative concepts of a family.”

She emphasised that the previous judge assumed that the biological mother was a housewife and assumed that all biological parents are capable of taking care of and raising kids.

The previous decision was biassed towards single and working women in India. It reflected the age-old concept that a child must be raised a married couple only.

This was, however, not the first time that a single and working woman approached with an appeal to adopt a child. There have been many such battles fought in courts.

Actor Sushmita Sen had accepted in an old interview that she fought a battle in the court to adopt her second daughter Alisah because she was told that she could not adopt another girl child after the first one. When she adopted Renee, people criticised her for embracing motherhood out of wedlock.

We spoke to Advocate Nitin Yadav, the practising lawyer at the Delhi High Court, to understand the eligibility criteria for adoption in India.

Adoption Laws In India

There are two laws that govern adoption in India - the Juvenile Act of 2015 and the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956 (HAMA). Both have their separate eligibility criteria.

Eligibility under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956

• A person must be a Hindu (8 Grounds For Divorce Under The Hindu Law) (could belong to communities of Lingayat, Virashaiva, Arya Samaj and Prarthana), Buddhist, Sikh or Jain by religion.
• A person who is not a Jew, Parsi, Christian or Muslim by religion
• Adopting parents have the capacity and right to adopt a child
• A person giving in adoption can do so
• Adoption is made in compliance with the other conditions

This law mentions separate eligibility criteria for a single man or woman who wants to adopt a child. In any case, no person except the biological father or mother or both can give up the child in adoption. Only in the case where parents are not around that a legal guardian can give the kid up for adoption.

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Eligibility criteria under the Juvenile Act of 2015 (Register on Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA))

• Prospective adoptive parents must be mentally (Mental Health of Teens), emotionally, physically and financially capable to take the responsibility
• Irrespective of the marital status, adults in India can adopt a child. Consent of both parents will be required if a couple is applying.
• A single can adopt a child of any gender, however, a man is not eligible to adopt a girl child
• No child shall be given in adoption to a couple unless they have at least two years of stable marital relationship except in the step-parent or relative adoption
• The age of prospective adoptive parents will be taken into consideration at the time of adoption
• The composite age of the applicants is also considered in case a couple is applying
• Age criteria are not considered in the case of relative or step-parent adoption
• Prospective adoptive parents have to revalidate their home study report after three years
• A couple with two or more kids can be considered for kids with special needs or hard-to-place children
• The seniority of the prospective adoptive parents who have not received a single referral within three years shall be counted from their date of registration

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Adoption Process In India

The adoption process in India is ardent and has many challenges. According to a report published in the Hindu, in January 2023, there were more than 31,000 applicants for 2,188 children available in the adoption pool.

There is a long waiting period involved, and the loopholes allow traffickers to take advantage of the system. When amendments were made to the Juvenile Act in 2016, District Magistrates (DMs) were given the authority to give orders on adoption instead of following long procedures in courts.

If you are someone looking to adopt, visit the official website of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to get in-depth information. Stay tuned to HerZindagi for more.