INTRODUCTION
In India the adoption procedure is governed by various statutes and guidelines provided by the Central government. These statues and guidelines have extensive provisions covering precise and clear definition of adoption, who can be adopted, who can adopt to the rights of the adopted child and other related provisions. Currently the laws of adoption are governed by personal laws as well as other statutes such as Guardian and Wards Act, 1890, The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children, 2015, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. However, in this blog post, we shall discuss the adoption procedure irrespective of the personal laws. This blog post will talk about the guidelines provided by the Central Government in 2015.
WHAT DOES ADOPTION MEAN?
Adoption is the process through which a child becomes the lawful child of his adoptive parents. He will have all the rights, privileges and responsibility of a biological child.
WHO CAN BE ADOPTED?
According to Section 4 of the latest guidelines provided by the Central Government in 2015 any orphan, abandoned or surrendered child, declared legally free for adoption by the Child Welfare Committee is eligible for adoption.
An orphan is a child who is without his legal parents or guardian or his parents are not capable of taking care of him.
An abandoned child is one who is deserted or unaccompanied by his parents or guardians and the Child Welfare Committee has declared him so.
A surrendered child is one who is relinquished on account of physical, emotional and social factors beyond the control of the parent or legal guardian and is so declared by the Child Welfare Committee.
WHO CAN ADOPT?
o Any Indian, NRI or foreign citizen can adopt a child, though the procedure for all three is different.
o Any male or female irrespective of their marital status is eligible to adopt.
o A single female can adopt a child of any gender but a single male cannot adopt a girl child.
o If a couple is adopting, they should have two years of stable marriage and consent of both the spouses is necessary.
o Age difference should not be less than 25years between the adoptive parents and the adoptive child.
CONDITIONS TO BE FULFILLED
o The prospective parents should be emotionally, mentally and physically stable.
o They should be financially capable to raise a child.
o They should not have more than four kids.
o hey should not be suffering from a life threatening disease.
WHAT IS CARA?
Central adoption resource authority (CARA) is the nodal agency to regulate adoption for in-country and intra-country. It is a statutory body of the Government of India working under the Ministry of Women & Child Development. It deals with adoption of children through special recognized agencies.
PROCEDURE FOLLOWED FOR ADOPTION OF A CHILD
1. Prospective parents register online or can reach District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) to register the prospective parents online.
2. The adoption agency prepares a Home Study report describing the various factors and circumstances of the family within one month of the registration.
3. The home study report shall be posted on the database by the adoption agency.
4. The parents are given chance to choose their prospective child based on their preferences.
5. They are shown photographs, child study reports and medical examination reports of up to six children.
6. The prospective adoptive parents may reserve one child within a period of forty eight hours for possible adoption and the rest of the children would be released for other prospective parents.
7. The adoption agency will fix the meeting of the prospective adoptive parents to access whether they are suitable parents or not. The parents should also be allowed to have a meeting with the child.
8. The entire process of matching should not take more than fifteen days.
9. While accepting the child the prospective adoptive parents should sign the Child Study Report in presence of social worker.
10. If prospective parent do not accept the child or the child do not accept the parent then same procedure will be followed for other chances.
PRE-ADOPTION FOSTER CARE
When the prospective adoptive parent accepts a child and signs on the acceptance form, he is given for foster care within 10 days of adoption.
LEGAL PROCEDURE
o The specialized agency shall then file an adoption petition in the court having jurisdiction within 7 days of the acceptance.
o The Court shall then hold the in-camera proceedings and dispose the case within 2 months.
o The court provides for a certified copy of adoption and the same shall be forwarded by the adoption agency within 10 days.
o After receipt of the order, the prospective adoptive parent becomes the legal parents of the child.
o Constant follow up is required by the specialized adoption agency.
DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
The following documents are required to be produced in original along with two self attested copies by the PAPs.
a. Proof of identity(voter card/pan card/passport/driving license)
b. Proof of address indicating residence in India exceeding 365 days
c. Marriage Certificate
d. Family Photograph
e. Health certificate by a registered medical practitioner certifying that the PAPs are not suffering from any contagious or terminal disease or any such mental or physical condition which may prevent them from taking care of the child.
f. Three recent postcard sized photographs of the adoptive family.
g. Two letters of recommendation from persons who know the family well. Such recommendations should not be from immediate relatives of either spouse.
h. If the PAPs are self-employed, IT statement for the last three years and if they are employed, Income Certificate from the employer also indicating the date of superannuation.
i. Financial statement including copies of bank statement for the last six months, details of movable and immovable property owned by the family and details of loans taken by the PAPs.
j. Written consent of the biological and/or adopted child/children and if they are above 7 years of age.
k. Adoption decree, if the couple have adopted child/children earlier.
l. Divorce/legal separation decree in case of single PAP if applicable.
m. Letter from close relative of single PAP stating that in the event of any unforeseen circumstance, the relative would take care of the child.
(the documents required are described in the Schedule 8 of the Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children, 2015.)

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES GOVERNING ADOPTION
(a) The child’s best interest shall be of prime importance while deciding any placement;
(b) Preference shall be given to place the child in adoption within the country;
(c) Adoption of children shall be guided by set procedures and in a time bound manner;
(d) No one shall derive any gain, whether financial or otherwise, through adoption.

PERSON COMPETENT TO BE ADOPTED
Any orphan, abandoned or surrendered child can be adopted following due procedure laid down in these Guidelines if such child is declared legally free for adoption by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
PERSON COMPETENT TO ADOPT
In accordance with the provisions of sub-section (6) of section 41, the Court may allow a child to be given in adoption, –
(a) To an individual irrespective of his or her marital status; or
(b) To parents to adopt a child of the same sex irrespective of the number of living biological sons or daughters; or
(c) To a childless couple.

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR PROSPECTIVE ADOPTIVE PARENTS (PAPS)
(1) No child may be given in adoption to a couple unless they have at least two years of stable marital relationship.
(2) Couples in live-in relationship are not eligible to adopt a child.
(3) To adopt a child in the age group of 0-3 years, the maximum composite age of the PAPs should be 90 years wherein the individual age of the PAPs should not be less than 25 years and more than 50 years.
(4) To adopt children above three years of age, the maximum composite age of the PAPs should be 105 years wherein the individual age of the PAPs should not be less than 25 years and more than 55 years.
(5) In case a single PAP desires to adopt, he or she should not be less than 30 years of age and shall not be above the age of 50 years. The maximum age shall be 45 years to adopt children in the age group of 0-3 years and 50 years for adopting children above 3 years.
(6) The PAPs should have adequate financial resources to provide a good upbringing to the child.
(7) The PAPs should have good health and should not be suffering from any contagious or terminal disease or any such mental or physical condition, which may prevent them from taking care of the child.
(8) Adoption of a second child is permissible only when the legal adoption of the first child has been finalized but this is not applicable in case of siblings.
(9) An un-married or single male person is not permitted to adopt a girl child.

FOR MORE DETAILS CALL:
VED LEGAL,
Adv. Gajanan Rahate
Mob: 9763040088
E_mail: [email protected]