Adoption in India

IN NEWS:

• As per the senior officials from the Women and Child Development Ministry (WCD), over 2,297 adoptions took place in India in the last nine months under amended adoption rules which came into force in September last year.

ADOPTION:

• Adoption means the process through which the adopted child becomes the lawful child of his adoptive parents with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that are attached to a biological child.

CURRENT SCENARIO OF ORPHANED/ABANDONED CHILDREN IN INDIA:

• According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), India has 2.96 crore orphaned or abandoned children.
• In its 2020-21 report, the Ministry of Women and Child Development noted that 2.56 lakh children were living in 7,164 child care institutions (CCIs) in the country.
• According to Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) data, India recorded the lowest number of cumulative adoptions between 2020 and 2021 (3,559) since 2013, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• As many as 30,217 Prospective adoptive Parent (PAP) are registered for adoption in India and 984 in countries abroad.

WHAT IS THE ADOPTION PROCESS IN INDIA?

• The following fundamental principles govern adoptions of children from India:
  1. The child's best interests shall be of paramount consideration, while processing any adoption placement
  2. Preference shall be given to place the child in adoption with Indian citizens and with due regard to the principle of placement of the child in his own socio-cultural environment, as far as possible.
  3. All adoptions shall be registered on Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System and the confidentiality of the same shall be maintained by the Authority.
• In India, two legislations deal with the adoption of a child:
  • The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA)
  • The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Model Rules, 2016 and Adoption Regulations, 2017
• Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA):
  • It is the statutory body of Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
  • It functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
  • CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003.
• A database of children and registration of prospective parents is done on a centralised Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS), which is maintained by CARA.
• Who can be adopted:
  • An orphan, abandoned, or surrendered child who has been declared legally free for adoption by Child Welfare Committee (CWC) can be adopted under the provisions of the JJ Act 2015.
  • A child of a relative (paternal uncle or aunt, a maternal uncle or aunt or paternal and maternal grandparents)
  • Children of the spouse from earlier marriage surrendered by the biological parent(s)
• Who can adopt
  • Physically, mentally stable, financially capable and should not have any life-threatening medical condition
  • Married couple- 2 years of stable marital relationship and consent of both spouses, composite age of the married couple should not exceed 110 years
  • Single- A single woman can adopt a child of any gender but a single male is not eligible to adopt a girl child, age of a single parent should not exceed 55 years
  • Minimum age difference between the child and either of the prospective adoptive parents should not be less than 25 years
  • Age criteria is not applicable in the case of adoptions by relative or step-parent
  • Couples with three or more children are not considered except in case of adoption of children with special needs or hard-to-place children

JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE & PROTECTION OF CHILDREN) AMENDMENT ACT, 2021:

• Under the new adoption rules, as per Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, the District Magistrates are empowered to give adoption orders. The Act came into force with an aim to prevent court-related delays in the process of adoptions which has created a lot of pendency.
• The Act also empowers DMs to independently evaluate the functioning of all the Child Protection Units in the districts along with the Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice Boards along with Specialised Juvenile Police Units.

ISSUES:

• Abuse and Trafficking:
  • There are reports of rampant malpractices and inter-country adoption rackets. Various instances of sexual harassment of children in care homes have been reported across the country.
• Red tapism:
  • The waiting time for adoption has increased to three years from one year in the past five years.
• Unidentified children:
  • There were 27,939 prospective parents registered with the CARA as on 2021, but only 2,430 children were declared legally free for adoption by Child Welfare Committees. Despite this situation, many orphan/abandoned children remain outside the CARA registry.
• Powers of District Magistrate:
  • Adoption of a child is a legal process which creates a permanent legal relationship between the child and adoptive parents. Therefore, it is questioned whether it is appropriate to vest the power to issue adoption orders with the district magistrate instead of a civil court.
• Diminishing the role of court:
  • As of July 2018, there were 629 adoption cases pending in various courts.  In order to expedite adoption proceedings, the Bill transfers the power to issue adoption orders to the district magistrate.  An issue to consider is whether the level of pendency justifies shifting the load to the district magistrate.

WAY FORWARD:

• It is not appropriate for an administrative authority (District magistrate) to issue adoption orders.. Such powers must be vested with a judicial body.
• There is a need to bring out a uniform and comprehensive legislation that is more transparent, accountable, verifiable, less bureaucratic and applicable to all irrespective of religion.
• The new legislation should also cover LGBTQ community.
• New legislation should avoid using the term ‘illegitimate’ and adoption law should be same for all children whether born within or out of wedlock.
• Monthly meeting chaired by the DM should be held to ensure that orphan and abandoned children are produced before Child Welfare Committee and made available for adoption at the earliest.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. Give an account of the concerns faced in ensuring the protection and development of children in India. What measures have been taken to address these concerns?