Introduction
There is no uniform law for Adoption in India. Only Hindu’s have Legal Provisions for adopting children. No legal provisions are present in Muslims, Christians, Parsis or Jew etc.
Adoption simply means the act of a person taking as his lawful child a person who is not in fact his child. We can say, it’s the transplantation of a child from the family in which he is born, to another family where he is given by the natural parents or guardian by way of adoption.
Adoptive child is considered as a new born child in the family & the child’s old ties with his/her real family comes to an end. Adoptive child acquires all the rights & duties of their only family.
In the old Hindu Law, only sons could be adopted but this concept is changed by the Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act, 1956 which says that daughters could also be adopted now. The act also stated that no performance of religious ceremonies is required while adoption. It can simply complete by actual giving & taking.
All the things related to adoptions are regulated & governed by the provisions of the Hindu Adoption & Maintenance Act, 1956. If all the given essential conditions is not fulfilled then the adoption shall be void and that it shall create no rights.
Conditions for a Valid Adoption
It is given in the Section 6 of the Act. Only a Hindu can adopt a child if he/she fulfills all the necessary requirements.
- The person who is adopting a child must have the capacity as well as the right to adopt a child;
- The biological parents should ready to give their child to the adoptive one;
- The child should also be capable according to the provisions of the act to be taken in adoption;
- The adoption should be done with all the fulfillment of necessary conditions.
Conditions for an Adoption of a Daughter
The concept of adoption of a daughter is mentioned under Section 11(ii) of the Act. It states that one wishing to adopt a daughter must not have a living daughter or a granddaughter from their son at the time of the adoption.
It doesn’t matter whether the daughter or granddaughter is legitimate, illegitimate, or adoptive.
Conditions for an Adoption of a Daughter by Male
The male should have capacity to adopt a girl child as prescribed under Section 7 of the act. Also, that male should be 21 years older than a girl child.
Other Conditions
Other than the above-mentioned conditions, a person should also fulfill some other additional conditions. This concept is for the welfare of the child. The conditions are:
- Same child can’t be adopted by multiple people at the same time.
- The biological parents or guardian must give free consent for the adoption & should give all rights to the adoptive parents according to the provisions of the act.
- The biological parents or guardian should have intention to transfer their child from his/her biological family to the adoptive one.
- If the child’s parents are unknown, then the intention must be to transfer him/her from the place or family that they have been brought up to their adoptive family.
References
