Expressing concern over the 450 children at Preet Mandir, the Bombay High Court on Thursday observed that we should not talk about rich culture and heritage of our country if we treat children in adoption homes as “commodities”.
The division bench of Justice B H Marlapalle and Justice Anoop Mohta were hearing petitions filed by NGOs Advait Foundation and Sakhee seeking action against Preet Mandir, alleging various irregularities by the adoption centre. Preet Mandir lawyer said closing down the adoption centre would not serve any purpose. The lawyer argued that the children are young and attached to the staff of the adoption centre and should not be treated as vegetables or cattle to shift them from one place to another.
Justice Marlapalle said the state government should look into the matter. “On the one hand, we must go by the reality — number of unwed mothers, number of families selling children owing to poverty. We only hope that these adoption centres will not be breeding farms. Let us not treat children as pets.” The court observed that even the government-run centres are full of malpractices. “It is the state’s responsibility. The number of such children is bound to go up while there is poverty in this country.” The court was of the view the government is duty-bound to rehabilitate the children in adoption centres, however, he said these are slowly turning into “corporate ventures”. The judges asked the government to formulate guidelines on how it plans to control private adoption homes. “We want the government to apply their mind independently, constitute a committee keeping in mind SC guidelines with respect to adoption,” the court said. The court has adjourned the hearing for four weeks.