Law On Adoption

Mayank Kashyap
04013403820
BA.L.L.B. 2nd Year
ADOPTION
Adoption is a legal process
by which a child is placed
with a married couple or a
single female who agree to
raise her as their own child
and assume all
responsibility for her.
 LAWS GOVERNING ADOPTION
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)
Adoption under Hindu Law

Currently, the adoption under Hindu Law is governed by The Hindu

Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.

An adoptive parent is allowed to ask for a child, as per her preferences

(age, gender, skin colour, religion, specific features and health
condition)

A single parent or married couples are not permitted to adopt more

than one child of the same.
REQUIREMENTS FOR A VALID
ADOPTION
No adoption is valid unless:
1. The person adopting is lawfully capable of taking in adoption.
2. The person giving in adoption is lawfully capable of giving in
adoption.
3. The person adopted is lawfully capable of being taken in
adoption.
4. The adoption is completed by an actual giving and taking and
after the ceremony called Datta Homan
 WHO MAY ADOPT A CHILD?
Capacity of male :
● Who is of sound mind and is
not a minor.
● Has the capacity to take a son
or daughter in adoption.
● Provided that if he has a wife
living, he shall not adopt
except with the consent of his
wife.
Any female Hindu :
● Who is of sound mind, who is not a minor.
● Who is not married, or if married, whose
marriage has been dissolved or whose
husband is dead or has completely and finally
renounced the world or has ceased to be a
Hindu, or has been declared by a court of
competent jurisdiction to be of unsound
mind, has the capacity to take a son or
daughter in adoption.
Who can be adopted

No person can be adopted unless :

★ he or she is a Hindu,
★ he or she has not already been adopted,
★ he or she has not been married,
★ he or she has not completed the age of fifteen years.
CONDITIONS TO BE FULFILLED BY AN ADOPTIVE
PARENT
❖ Medically fit and financially able to care for a child
❖ Must be at least 21 years old
❖ No legal upper age limit for parents
❖ Adoption of the older children, age of the parents may be relaxed
❖ Adopted child with special needs, the age limit may be relaxed
❖ If the adoption is of a son, the adoptive father or mother by whom the
adoption is made must not have a 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 daughter living at the time of
adoption.
GUARDIAN AND WARDS ACT OF 1890
➔ A foreign national adopts an Indian child under the provisions
of the Guardian and Wards Act, 1890.
➔ The adoptive parent is only the guardian of the child until she
reaches 18 years of age.
➔ An adoptive parent is allowed to ask for a child, as per her
preferences (age, gender, skin colour, religion, specific features
and health condition)
➔ Foreign citizens and NRIs supposed to adopt according to the
adoption laws and procedures in the country of their residence.
JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT OF 2000

The Act is applicable only to children who are in need

of care and protection and come under the purview of
adoption under the Act and not to those children who
have been voluntarily put for adoption.
RIGHTS OF THE ADOPTED CHILD
Section 12 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act states that
―an adopted child shall be deemed to be the child of his or her
adoptive father or mother for all purposes with effect from the date
of adoption and from such date all the ties of the child in the family
by his or her birth shall be deemed to be saved and replaced by those
created by the adoption in the adoptive family.

Neither the adoptive parents nor the child can overturn a valid
adoption.
CONCLUSION

Adoption is the creation of a new, permanent

relationship between an adoptive parent and child.
Once this happens, there is no legal difference between
a child who is adopted and a child who is born into a
family.