Adoption has always been considered as a very sacred act. As per the Merriam-Webster legal dictionary legal adoption means “to take voluntarily (a child of other parents) as one’s own child especially in compliance with formal legal procedures”. Under Indian law, adoption forms the subject matter of ‘personal law’ where Hindu, Buddhist, Jain 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. 

Indian citizens can adopt in India under three major legislations: 

• Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956 (Hindus, Jain, Sikhs or Buddhists) 
• Guardian and Wards Act of 1890 (Foreign citizens, NRIs and Indian nationals who are Muslims, Christians or Jews) 
• Juvenile Justice Act of 2000 (a part of which deals with Adoption of children by non-Hindu parents) 

In India, Any Indian, married or single, Non Resident Indian, or a person of other nationality, can adopt a child.  

Under Section 7 and Section 8 of THE HINDU ADOPTION AND MAINTENANCE ACT, 1956 provides the capacity of people who can take in adoption: 

“Any male Hindu who is of sound mind and is not a minor has the capacity to adopt a son or a daughter. But if such male has a living spouse at a time of adoption then he can adopt a child only with a consent of his wife (unless she has been declared incompetent to give her consent by the court).” 

“Any female Hindu who is of sound mind, not a minor and unmarried, or if married, whose husband is not alive or her marriage has been dissolved or her husband has been declared incompetent by the court has the capacity to take a son or daughter in adoption”.

Section 10 Of HAMA provides the following persons who may be adopted: 

• The child can either be a girl or a boy if he/she is a Hindu. 

• He/ She has not been adopted before. 
• He/She has not completed the age of 15 years. 
• He/ She has not been married. 

There are certain conditions provided in the Hindu Adoption and maintenance act  for adoption by Hindu couples or single parent like: 

• Where there is an adoption of a son by a female then the adoptive mother should be at least twenty-one years older than the child.    

• Where there is an adoption of a daughter by a male then the adoptive father should be at least twenty-one years older than the child. 
• If the adoption is of a son, the adoptive father or mother by whom the adoption is made must not have a Hindu son, son’s son or son’s son’s son living at the time of adoption. 
• If the adoption is of a daughter, the adoptive father or mother by whom the adoption is made must not have a Hindu daughter or son’s daughter living at the time of adoption. 

Under the Hindu law of adoption, only a Hindu can adopt a child if he/she abides by the essentials prescribed in Section 6 of the act:

• The person adopting has the capacity and also the right to take in adoption;
• The person giving in the child for adoption has the capacity to do so;
• The person being adopted has the capacity to be taken in adoption;
• The adoption is made in compliance with the act.

Only upon meeting these requirements the adoption can be valid.

The Guardian and wards act only makes a child a ward, not an adoptive child. According to this statute, when the child turns to the age of 21, he/she is no longer consider as a ward and treated as an individual identity. 

This article focused mainly upon the HAMA. The other acts also provides the capacity of the parents who can adopt, who can be adopted and conditions for valid adoptions. 

Adoption once validly made is final and cannot be revoked. The adopted child could not renounce the adoption. The law has further made an express prohibition against the payment of money or other reward in consideration of adoption.  

There are many Children in India who are in need of proper care and with the help of Adoption a good and standard Life can be provided to them. Adoption is a pious act so it should be performed by the people at a large scale because India is a country with a large population and huge number of unwanted children. 

REFERENCES

1. blog.ipleader.in
2. legalservices.com

Aishwarya Says:

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