Wanted your legal advice on adoption
1 year ago
Wanted your legal advice on adoption. I have a 8 years old daughter and want to adopt a child. The problem is i am an Australian citizen (obtained citizenship in 2017). I moved back to india in 2018 and since then living here as OCI.
I tried registering on CARA as Paps but the process for OCI living in india is complicated. Also, Australian gov is not helping in NOC which is required for registration. Can you please help me if there is a way to adopt a child legally.
A.Dear Sir,
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
A. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
1. What is Adoption?
Adoption means the process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from his
biological parents and becomes the lawful child of the adoptive parents with all the rights, privileges
and responsibilities that are attached to a biological child.
(As per Section 2(2) of the JJ (C&PC) Act, 2015)
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2015 read with Adoption Regulation,2017 has
recognized five kinds of adoption namely,
i. an abandoned, surrendered, destitute child/ren adopted by unrelated person/s living within the
country
ii. an abandoned, surrendered, destitute child/ren adopted by unrelated person/s living outside the
country
iii. a related child by relatives living within the country
iv. a related child by relatives living outside the country
v. adoption of a child by step parents within the country
2. Who can be adopted?
A child can be adopted if s/he is:
i. An orphan, abandoned or surrendered (OAS) child who has been declared legally free for adoption by
the Child Welfare Committee (CWC)
(As per the provisions of the JJ (C&PC) Act 2015 and the corresponding rules)
ii. A child of a relative (a relative means the child's paternal uncle or aunt, a maternal uncle or aunt or
paternal and maternal grandparents)
iii. A child or children of spouse from earlier marriage surrendered by the biological parent(s) for adoption
by the step-parent.
(Section 38 and 56 of the JJ (C&PC) Act, 2015 and Regulation 4 of Adoption Regulations)
3. Who can adopt?
General
i. Prospective adoptive parents (PAP):- who are physically, mentally and emotionally stable, financially
capable and who do not have any life threatening medical conditions are eligible to adopt.
ii. The minimum age difference between the child and PAP/s shall not be less than twenty-five years
Married:
i. Married couples with at least 2 years of stable marital relationship
ii. Both spouses must consent for adoption in case of a married couple
iii. The composite age of the married couple does not exceed 110 years
Single
i. Single persons with or without biological or adoptive children can adopt provided they satisfy the
following:
(a) A single female can adopt a child of any gender
(b) A single male is not eligible to adopt a girl child
(c) Age of a single parent does not exceed 55 years.
(d) Must have less than four children unless they are adopting a child with special needs, a hardto-place child, a relative’s child or a step-child.
The age of the child that could be placed with PAPs differs based on the age of the PAPs on the date of
registration as given in the following table:
Age of the child Maximum composite age of the
prospective adoptive parents
Maximum age of single
prospective adoptive parent
0-18 years 90 years 45 years
4 to 18 years 100 years 50 years
8 to 18 years 110 years 55 years
Note: Section 57 of the JJ Act(C&PC) Act, 2015 and Regulation 5 of Adoption Regulations, 2017
B. General Queries by Prospective Adoptive Parents for Adopting a Child
in India
4. What is the process of adopting a child in India?
Steps for In-Country Adoptions
5. I have found a baby on the road-side; can I adopt that child?
i. No, you cannot adopt the child directly.
ii. If you find any abandoned child in the need of care and protection, you can contact any of the following
(a) CHILDLINE (Toll Free Number-1098)
(b) Local Police
(c) Any Specialized Adoption Agency (SAA)
(d) Child Welfare Committee (CWC)
(e) District Child Protection Unit (DCPU).
Note: Failure to do so may attract penal provisions, of 6 months imprisonment or a fine of Rs 10,000 or
both as per Sections 32, 33, 34 of JJ (C&PC) Act, 2015.
6. Is the adoption process centralized in India? If yes, what are the advantages of having a centralized
system?
The database of children and registration of parents are done on centralized CARINGS software
maintained and managed by CARA. The central monitoring system for adoption is useful in
maintaining the transparency and accountability of all stakeholders involved in the care and
rehabilitation of children; monitoring the availability of children; keeping a track for expeditious
processes and coordinating with all concerned in promoting non-institutional care of children, in their
best interest.
7. Why is my seniority fluctuating on CARINGS?
Seniority of Prospective Adoptive Parents are affected due to several reasons likei. In case HSR of PAPs registered before you gets uploaded /updated later or
ii. The PAPs registered before you, change their State/age of the child preference.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
A. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
1. What is Adoption?
Adoption means the process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from his
biological parents and becomes the lawful child of the adoptive parents with all the rights, privileges
and responsibilities that are attached to a biological child.
(As per Section 2(2) of the JJ (C&PC) Act, 2015)
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2015 read with Adoption Regulation,2017 has
recognized five kinds of adoption namely,
i. an abandoned, surrendered, destitute child/ren adopted by unrelated person/s living within the
country
ii. an abandoned, surrendered, destitute child/ren adopted by unrelated person/s living outside the
country
iii. a related child by relatives living within the country
iv. a related child by relatives living outside the country
v. adoption of a child by step parents within the country
2. Who can be adopted?
A child can be adopted if s/he is:
i. An orphan, abandoned or surrendered (OAS) child who has been declared legally free for adoption by
the Child Welfare Committee (CWC)
(As per the provisions of the JJ (C&PC) Act 2015 and the corresponding rules)
ii. A child of a relative (a relative means the child's paternal uncle or aunt, a maternal uncle or aunt or
paternal and maternal grandparents)
iii. A child or children of spouse from earlier marriage surrendered by the biological parent(s) for adoption
by the step-parent.
(Section 38 and 56 of the JJ (C&PC) Act, 2015 and Regulation 4 of Adoption Regulations)
3. Who can adopt?
General
i. Prospective adoptive parents (PAP):- who are physically, mentally and emotionally stable, financially
capable and who do not have any life threatening medical conditions are eligible to adopt.
ii. The minimum age difference between the child and PAP/s shall not be less than twenty-five years
Married:
i. Married couples with at least 2 years of stable marital relationship
ii. Both spouses must consent for adoption in case of a married couple
iii. The composite age of the married couple does not exceed 110 years
Single
i. Single persons with or without biological or adoptive children can adopt provided they satisfy the
following:
(a) A single female can adopt a child of any gender
(b) A single male is not eligible to adopt a girl child
(c) Age of a single parent does not exceed 55 years.
(d) Must have less than four children unless they are adopting a child with special needs, a hardto-place child, a relative’s child or a step-child.
The age of the child that could be placed with PAPs differs based on the age of the PAPs on the date of
registration as given in the following table:
Age of the child Maximum composite age of the
prospective adoptive parents
Maximum age of single
prospective adoptive parent
0-18 years 90 years 45 years
4 to 18 years 100 years 50 years
8 to 18 years 110 years 55 years
Note: Section 57 of the JJ Act(C&PC) Act, 2015 and Regulation 5 of Adoption Regulations, 2017
B. General Queries by Prospective Adoptive Parents for Adopting a Child
in India
4. What is the process of adopting a child in India?
Steps for In-Country Adoptions
5. I have found a baby on the road-side; can I adopt that child?
i. No, you cannot adopt the child directly.
ii. If you find any abandoned child in the need of care and protection, you can contact any of the following
(a) CHILDLINE (Toll Free Number-1098)
(b) Local Police
(c) Any Specialized Adoption Agency (SAA)
(d) Child Welfare Committee (CWC)
(e) District Child Protection Unit (DCPU).
Note: Failure to do so may attract penal provisions, of 6 months imprisonment or a fine of Rs 10,000 or
both as per Sections 32, 33, 34 of JJ (C&PC) Act, 2015.
6. Is the adoption process centralized in India? If yes, what are the advantages of having a centralized
system?
The database of children and registration of parents are done on centralized CARINGS software
maintained and managed by CARA. The central monitoring system for adoption is useful in
maintaining the transparency and accountability of all stakeholders involved in the care and
rehabilitation of children; monitoring the availability of children; keeping a track for expeditious
processes and coordinating with all concerned in promoting non-institutional care of children, in their
best interest.
7. Why is my seniority fluctuating on CARINGS?
Seniority of Prospective Adoptive Parents are affected due to several reasons likei. In case HSR of PAPs registered before you gets uploaded /updated later or
ii. The PAPs registered before you, change their State/age of the child preference.
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A.Dear Client
Firstly you must be eligible for the adoption policy as per the juvenile justice law and after that only you will be eligible for adoption rights.
Hope it helps.
Firstly you must be eligible for the adoption policy as per the juvenile justice law and after that only you will be eligible for adoption rights.
Hope it helps.
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A.Dear Client
Since you have gotten the Australian citizenship hence you are treated as foreigner and hence the process of adoption for you will be little stringent. For all foreigners the process starts from registering itself with CARA and then applying for the adoption there in the country of origin involving the Indian embassy and the local adoption agency for further processing.
Since you have gotten the Australian citizenship hence you are treated as foreigner and hence the process of adoption for you will be little stringent. For all foreigners the process starts from registering itself with CARA and then applying for the adoption there in the country of origin involving the Indian embassy and the local adoption agency for further processing.
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Anonymous
Replied 1 year ago
Thanks for your response Sir. My country of origin is India and to register to CARA i require NOC from Australian embassy. This is where i am stuck because they are not helping.
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