In Chandigarh, no end to 40 hopeful parents’ long adoption wait
Despite Chandigarh administration’s January notification to make child adoption easier, only 11 children adopted in 10 months
It’s been almost a year since the UT administration notified the Chandigarh Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Amendment Rules, 2023, to accelerate the adoption process. Yet, the list of people hoping to adopt a child remains long.
Recently, the Supreme Court had raised serious concerns over the “grave” delay in the process of adoption of children and asked the Centre why no steps were being taken to simplify the process. (HT File)
Through the January notification, the district magistrate was given the authority to issue adoption orders that were previously under the ambit of district courts, thereby speeding up the process in such cases, be it intra-country, inter-country, relative or step parent adoption.
But as of October end, only 11 of the 51 adoption hopefuls have been able to bring a child home. Meanwhile, the wait for remaining 40 applicants, which has already drawn out for over two years, continues to grow longer.
Recently, the Supreme Court had raised serious concerns over the “grave” delay in the process of adoption of children and asked the Centre why no steps were being taken to simplify the process.
The court was informed by one of the petitioners that in a country of over 30 million orphans, only around 4,000 adoptions take place annually.
“There is a grave delay taking place in adoptions. Couples have to wait for three to four years...why are we stalling adoptions? Why is the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) not doing anything about it?” the bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud had said.
Adoption means a legal process that allows someone to become the parent of a child, even though the parent and child are not related by blood. But in every other way, adoptive parents are the child’s parents.
CARA is a nodal body of the Union ministry of women and child development that facilitates adoption of Indian children, and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. The agency deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its agencies.
In Chandigarh, Ashiana Children’s Home in Sector 15 caters to abandoned and orphaned children.
Palika Arora, director, social welfare, women and child development, UT, said, “As far as the adoption waiting list is concerned, our teams have already visited the applicants’ homes and we are working to complete the process soon.”
On the number of children adopted in Chandigarh, she cited 58 in past five years — around 11 annually.
Anil Malhotra, international adoption expert, said the adoption process set up by CARA was complicated and difficult, which delayed adoptions. “Independent Hindu law adoptions have also been subjected to CARA regulations, contravening Juvenile Justice Act and Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act,” he said.
Who can adopt
Prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) who are physically, mentally and emotionally stable, financially capable and who do not have any life-threatening medical conditions
They should not have been accused or convicted in criminal act of any nature
Any PAP, irrespective of their marital status and whether or not they have biological son or daughter, can adopt a child
The consent of both spouses will be required in case of a married couple
A single female can adopt a child of any gender
A single male will not be eligible to adopt a girl child
The steps for adoption
1 Register on central portal “cara.nic.in”
2 Within a month, upload the relevant documents, which will be verified within 15 days
3 A home study report will be conducted by an officer by visiting the applicant’s home and the report will be uploaded on the CARA website
4 Once the report is verified and found correct, the applicant’s name will appear on the waiting list
5 Then depending upon the choice of gender, a child will be allocated for adoption.