TIME TO UNSCRAMBLE THE ADOPTION TANGLE

India Needs A Uniform Law For All Communities And Less Complicated Procedures, Activists Say During Adoption Week

Swati Deshpande | TNN

Mumbai: As Adoption Week draws to a close in India today, two things have become abundantly clear. First, there is hardly any awareness about a 2006 amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act which allows non-Hindus to adopt. Secondly, amending the act was not enough; there has to be more clarity about procedures and information on how the law should be applied. There are other, grimmer facts about adoption—like no one, not even foreigners, want to adopt mentally challenged children. 
Activists emphasise that there is no clarity on the provisions for adoption in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act. “There is a lot of confusion on the issue of adoption under the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act,’’ said child-rights activist Sangeeta Punalekar. She noted that adoption was provided for under the JJ Act in 2000 itself to aid the rehabilitation and social integration of orphaned, abandoned or neglected children. “But even then it met with hardly any response,’’ Punalekar said. To date, there are no known cases of adoption under the JJ Act in Maharashtra, though there have been a few cases in Delhi. Punalekar said the law stipulates that instead of getting the approval of higher courts—like district courts and high courts (in the case of inter-country adoption)—adoption should be done locally by child welfare committees and juvenile justice boards. However, she and other activists said there seem to be no rules or infrastructure in place nor is there clarity on related issues, like if the law will apply to Muslims. As it stands, the amendment to the JJ Act defines adoption as the “process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from his biological parents and becomes the legitimate child of his adoptive parents with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities attached to the

relationship’’ In other words, the Act would apply to all Indians. But advocate Rakesh Kapoor, who specialises in adoption, said it is not clear how this law would override the provisions of other personal laws. The Muslim personal law, for instance, does not permit adoption, he noted. The government can’t try and plug loopholes in one Act by amending another. “The adoption law in India needs an amendment to bring in greater uniformity for all religions, but it needs to be done more systematically and not just by amending the JJ Act,’’ said Kapoor. Sulochana Kalro, who runs Bal Anand, a Chembur adoption agency that has 72 children, 25 of them mentally challenged, said, “I have not heard of any adoptions under the JJ Act. Maybe there is one under way in Delhi.’’ She echoed Kapoor’s view that the law needed to be changed. As of now, adoption is permitted under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act. For non-Hindus, there is the Guardianship and Wards Act, which does not give the child rights to be a legal heir. In a landmark judgment a few years ago, the Bombay high court allowed a Christian couple who were guardians for over two years to become adoptive parents. Advocate Jamshed Mistry said Parsis who are barred from adopting also face complications under the guardianship

Act.
Activists say it is high time that stakeholders in the adoption arena, including the Central

Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), iron out some of the lacunae in Indian adoption. The Hindu Act, too, is very restrictive and comes with longwinded procedures. “Hindus wanting to adopt can’t adopt more than two children and they can’t be of the same sex,’’ said Kalro. She also lamented that couples were not keen on adopting mentally-challenged children. “We look after these children even after they become majors. We can’t deprive them of proper care. They have a right to a good life as well.’’ Indu Mehta, of the Asha Sadan adoption agency, said she was unaware of the provisions in the JJ Act, but added that procedures should be simplified and adoption should be made an option for couples and individuals of all religions, even in remote areas.
  
WHAT THE LAW SAYS   

In India, Hindus can adopt a child under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act Non-Hindus can take in children under the Guardianship and Wards Act, which does not make the child a legal heir. Christians can get parenthood rights from the court after two years The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act was amended in 2006 to allow non-Hindus to adopt, but there are no proper procedures, rules, infrastructure or awareness about the law. It is unclear if Muslim personal laws, which don’t permit adoption, override the Act

PROCEDURES & GUIDELINES

Not all accredited agencies will do a satisfactory job
Adoptions are regulated by Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA)
CARA specifies the eligibility conditions, processing steps, documentation, costs, court processes, foster care conditions, issuance of birth certificates and postadoption follow-ups It is mandatory for agencies that put children up for adoption to follow the CARA guidelines CARA has a list of Indian adoption agencies There are 59 recognised Indian Placement Agencies recognised by CARA for inter-country adoption. However, they must give priority to incountry adoption under Supreme Court directives, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Hague Convention and Indian govt guidelines There 18 adoption coordinating agencies recognised by CARA for promoting in-country adoption

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