Delhi HC issues notice to Centre, Delhi govt, others in PIL seeking streamlining of legal adoption process

By Sushil Batra
New Delhi [India], February 24 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Centre, Delhi government, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and others in public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the court's intervention regarding necessary legal steps for streamlining and making the legal adoption process lucid and comprehensive.
The plea also sought direction for generating awareness in the masses with regard to rampant illegal adoptions in the country and its negative impact, so that prospective adoptive parents and children may not suffer the ignominy of facing criminal trial and length and cumbersome legal procedure.
The plea has sought directions for the simplification of the procedure to adopt children under the Juvenile Justice Act. It further sought for the opening up of more child care institutions or Centres and to bring existing unregistered ones under the ambit of the statutory umbrella.
The Division Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh on Wednesday sought responses from the respondents -- Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of NCT of Delhi, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Central Adoption Resource Authority and others -- in plea moved by an NGO Yathartha Foundation.
Petitioner through Advocate MS Khan also sought a direction to respondents to take steps for creating Foster Homes and identifying the families who can take foster children and act as foster families and further to give full effect to Section 44 of the JJ Act and it's related rules.
The plea said "illegal practices with regard to adoption are prevailing and pervading in India, which, has been a cause of suffering and harassment to a large number of children given and taken in adoption and also to their parents."
The plea submitted that just like sex determination is illegal and awareness boards are displayed at ultrasound centres to inform the general public regarding the illegality of determining the gender of the child, similarly, awareness boards need to be displayed at IVF centres, surrogacy centres, maternity homes and orphanages, regarding the perils of the illegal adoption process, so as to protect the couples from falling to the lies of the touts, who offer adoption through illegal ways.
It further submitted that it is urgently required that the Central Adoption Resource Authority Rules, which are most stringent and unworkable should be simplified and even a registered Adoption Deed should be valid under CARA Act generally, that is, even for Non-Hindu Adoptive parents.
Besides this, it is also necessary that endeavours should be made for streamlining, simplifying and making the legal adoption process easy, lucid and comprehensible, so that all the illegal adoptions and illegal procurement of children for the purpose of adoptions can be prevented.