Theme: Adoption

Adoption by OCI or Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or a Foreigner Living Abroad (Non-Religious Law)

Follow the steps given below to adopt a child if you are an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), Non-Resident Indian (NRI) or foreigner living abroad:(( Regulations 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, Adoption Regulations, 2017.))

Step 1: Approach the relevant authority i.e. the Authorized Foreign Adoption Agency or the Central Authority in your country of residence. In case there is no Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency or Central Authority in your country of residence, then you should approach the relevant  Government department or Indian diplomatic mission (in cases of Indian citizens) in that country. See here for a list of foreign adoption agencies. They will guide you on the home study that will be conducted and the registration process.

Step 2: You should submit the required documents. Please ask the authority you have approached for more details on this. 

Step 3: Two children will be referred to you for adoption, and you may reserve one child within 96 hours, and the profile of the other child will be withdrawn. If you fail to do this, both the profiles will be withdrawn. After reserving the child, you must accept the child and sign the Child Study Report and Medical Examination Report of the child within thirty days from the date of reservation. Failure to do this will lead to your profile being moved to the bottom of the seniority list, and the child’s profile will be withdrawn. You may also visit the child in person, and have the medical report reviewed by a medical practitioner. 

Step 4: A No Objection Certificate (NOC) will be issued in favor of the adoption by the relevant authority, and posted on Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS). 

Step 5: If you get an NOC , you may take the child in pre-adoption foster care temporarily while the Court order is pending. In order to do so, you will have to provide the following undertaking in this format. You will be given permanent custody of the child after:

  • The passport and visa are issued to the child
  • The Court order is passed. 

Step 6: The relevant authority will file an application with the relevant Court. The Court proceedings will be held in-camera, and your application will be disposed of within two months from when you filed the adoption application. 

Step 7: You must come to India and take the child within two months from the date of the adoption order. Thereafter, the following will be done:

  • A Conformity Certificate will be issued by the relevant authority within three working days of the availability of the adoption order by the Court
  • The authority will inform the relevant authorities, such as immigration authorities, etc. of the confirmed adoption. 
  • The authority will aid in getting an Indian passport, birth certificate and OCI Card (if applicable) for the child. 

Step 8: The relevant authority shall conduct follow-ups to assess the progress of the adoption, on a quarterly basis during the first year and every six months in the second year. In case of any issues, counselling will be provided, and if there is disruption or dissolution of the adoption, the child may be taken back and declared as legally free for adoption.

Please see here for more information on the procedure. 

Procedure for Hindu Adoption

Under the Hindu law on adoption,(( Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.)) there is no set procedure on adopting a child. You do not have to follow any guidelines, but you may have to execute an adoption deed. For more details on procedure and the format of the deed, you should consult a lawyer. 

If you are a guardian

A guardian requires the Court’s permission to adopt a child, or give him up for adoption, in certain cases:(( Section 9(4), Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.)) 

  • Where both the father and mother are dead; 
  • Where both the father and mother have completely and finally renounced the world; 
  • Where both the father and mother have abandoned the child; 
  • Where both the father and mother have been declared to be of unsound mind by the court concerned; 
  • Where the parentage of the child is not known.

Punishments Under Adoption Law

You may be punished if you do the following, regardless of the law under which you have adopted a child:

Illegally taking a child to a foreign country

  • If you take or send a child to a foreign country, or arrange for transferring the child to a person in a foreign country, without a valid order from the Court,(( Section 56(5), Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) then you can be punished with jail time of up to 3 years and/or a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. 

Abandoning/Neglecting/Abusing the Child

  • If you, as the caretaker/parent of a child under 12 years of age, abandon the child intentionally in any place to wholly abandon the child, you will be punished with jail time of up to 7 years and/or a fine.(( Section 317, Indian Penal Code, 1860.)) 
  • If you, as the caretaker/parent of a child, assault, abandon, abuse, expose or willfully neglect the child(( Section 75, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) or cause this to occur, in a manner likely to cause him/her child unnecessary mental or physical suffering, you will be punished with jail time of up to 3 years and/or a fine of Rs. 1 lakh.  If such cruelty makes the child physically incapacitated or mentally ill or renders him/her mentally unfit to perform regular tasks or risks his life, you can be punished with jail time between 3 and 10 years and a fine of Rs. 5 lakhs. 

 

Under the non-religious law on adoption,(( Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) you will be punished if you:

  • Give/receive any orphan, abandoned or surrendered child, for the purpose of adoption without following the provisions of the JJ Act.(( Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) The punishment  for this is jail time up to 3 years and/or a fine of Rs. 1 lakh.  Where the offence is committed by a recognized adoption agency, in addition to the above punishment, the registration of the agency and its recognition shall also be withdrawn for at least one year.

 

Under the Hindu law on adoption,(( Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.)) you will be punished if you:

Receive/give a payment or other reward in return for an adoption.(( Section 17, Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.)) For this, the punishment is jail time of up to 6 months and/or a fine, after authorization from the State Government.

Help and Support

If you require any help, support or you want to raise an issue regarding the adoption, you can contact the following authorities: 

Child Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)

CARA primarily deals with non-religious adoption(( Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated /recognised adoption agencies.

  • Helpline of CARA: 1800-11-1311.You may call this number between 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM between Monday to Friday. 
  • Email Address of CARA: carahdesk.wdc@nic.in 

 

Role of Courts

The Courts play a very important role during the adoption procedure. Given below are some of the important roles played by the Court:

 

Adoption Order (Non-Religious Law)(( Sections 12 and 17, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) 

Under the non-religious law on adoption,(( Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) the Court receives the application from the SAA (Specialized Adoption Agency) with the relevant documents of the child so that the Court can assess whether an adoption order can be granted. The application would include:

  • Details of the SAA and co-applicants (if there are any) like Child Care Institutions
  • Details of the prospective adoptive parent(s) such as name, child adoption resource information and guidance system registration number
  • Details of the child that is going to be adopted
  • The fact that the child has been declared legally free for adoption
  • The fact that the adoptive parents have signed a Pre-adoption foster care affidavit allowing social workers of the SAA, DCPU (District Child Protection Unit) to make home visits
  • Copy of the decision of the Adoption Committee 

Read a format of the application here to understand what other details are included in the application. By passing this adoption order, the Court would be granting permission to the parents to be the adoptive parents of the child. Before passing the adoption order, the Court has a duty to keep in mind:(( Section 61, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) 

  • That the adoption is for the welfare of the child
  • That the wishes of the child are taken into consideration, based on age and understanding of the situation
  • That the adoptive parents have not agreed to or received any payment or reward for the adoption
  • That the adoption proceedings in Court  should be in – camera proceedings.

 

Permission to Adopt (Hindu Law)

Under the Hindu law on adoption,(( Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.)) the guardian requires the Court’s permission to adopt a child, or give him up for adoption, in the following cases:(( Section 9(4), Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956.)) 

  • where both the father and mother are dead; 
  • where both the father and mother have completely and finally renounced the world; 
  • where both the father and mother have abandoned the child; 
  • where both the father and mother have been declared to be of unsound mind by the court concerned; 
  • where the parentage of the child is not known. 

 

Appeal (Non-Religious Law and Hindu Law)

Under the non-religious law on adoption, if you are not satisfied by the orders given by the relevant authorities while adopting a child or if you adoption application has been rejected, you may appeal to the Children’s Court, within 30 days of the relevant order.(( Section 101(1), Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.)) However, even if more than 30 days have passed, you can attempt to appeal, and it will be entertained if the Court believes you have sufficient reason for not being able to appeal within the stipulated 30 days. If you are not satisfied with the order given by the Court, you may file an appeal to the High Court of your state.(( Section 101(5), Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.))