Supreme Court asks Union govt to modify adoption laws
4 August 2010
Supreme Court asks Union govt to modify adoption laws
Published: Wednesday, Aug 4, 2010, 2:20 IST
By Rakesh Bhatnagar | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to re-examine the country’s archaic adoption laws that make it difficult for foreigners to adopt Indian children, pointing out that there are at least 12 million orphan children in the country who are forced to beg, work as domestic helps, or languish in government’s orphanages.
A bench of Justices Markandey Katju and TS Thakur on Monday said the Law Commission could consider recommending legislation for inter-country adoptions since there are no laws at present.
The court also sought solicitor general Gopal Subramanium’s assistance in a matter concerning an aged American couple whose plea to adopt an orphan from India have been rejected by the Delhi courts.
The judges are hearing a petition by Craig Allen Coates and his wife, Cynthia Ann Coates, residents of Westfield Street Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA. The couple, with three grown-up children, claim to be medically and financially fit and have a “strong desire” to adopt a minor male child in order to “further expand their family”.
They want to adopt 11-year-old Anil, who was found abandoned by the police and transferred to an orphanage. The Child Welfare Committee, which is in charge of adoption of abandoned children, had granted the ‘no-objection’ certificate to adopting Anil while the Coordinating Voluntary Adoption Resource Agency (CVARA) and the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) took care of the inter-country adoption details.
But the Delhi district court judge, which is the legal guardian of all abandoned and orphaned children, rejected Coates’ application for adoption.
The couple moved the Delhi high court, which upheld the lower court’s judgment. The Delhi HC expressed its doubts on the Coates’ plea of “further expanding the family”, noting that Craig Allen has cerebral palsy and that Cynthia Ann, a working medical nurse, needs to take care of him.
“It is quite likely that an additional child may get neglected. Also one cannot completely rule out the possibility that child may be exploited and used as a mere helper for Coates, who is disabled, once the child reaches foreign land,” the HC added.
The couple also couldn’t offer a satisfactory reply to the HC’s query as to why it was so keen on adopting an Indian child rather than an American. Thus, the HC said the “real intention” of the Coates in adopting an Indian “appears to be to use him as a domestic help” and rejected their claim.
The Supreme Court will now examine whether Anil should be given for adoption to the Coateseven as it seeks a law for inter-country adoptions.
Published: Wednesday, Aug 4, 2010, 2:20 IST
By Rakesh Bhatnagar | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to re-examine the country’s archaic adoption laws that make it difficult for foreigners to adopt Indian children, pointing out that there are at least 12 million orphan children in the country who are forced to beg, work as domestic helps, or languish in government’s orphanages.
A bench of Justices Markandey Katju and TS Thakur on Monday said the Law Commission could consider recommending legislation for inter-country adoptions since there are no laws at present.
The court also sought solicitor general Gopal Subramanium’s assistance in a matter concerning an aged American couple whose plea to adopt an orphan from India have been rejected by the Delhi courts.
The judges are hearing a petition by Craig Allen Coates and his wife, Cynthia Ann Coates, residents of Westfield Street Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, USA. The couple, with three grown-up children, claim to be medically and financially fit and have a “strong desire” to adopt a minor male child in order to “further expand their family”.
They want to adopt 11-year-old Anil, who was found abandoned by the police and transferred to an orphanage. The Child Welfare Committee, which is in charge of adoption of abandoned children, had granted the ‘no-objection’ certificate to adopting Anil while the Coordinating Voluntary Adoption Resource Agency (CVARA) and the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) took care of the inter-country adoption details.
But the Delhi district court judge, which is the legal guardian of all abandoned and orphaned children, rejected Coates’ application for adoption.
The couple moved the Delhi high court, which upheld the lower court’s judgment. The Delhi HC expressed its doubts on the Coates’ plea of “further expanding the family”, noting that Craig Allen has cerebral palsy and that Cynthia Ann, a working medical nurse, needs to take care of him.
“It is quite likely that an additional child may get neglected. Also one cannot completely rule out the possibility that child may be exploited and used as a mere helper for Coates, who is disabled, once the child reaches foreign land,” the HC added.
The couple also couldn’t offer a satisfactory reply to the HC’s query as to why it was so keen on adopting an Indian child rather than an American. Thus, the HC said the “real intention” of the Coates in adopting an Indian “appears to be to use him as a domestic help” and rejected their claim.
The Supreme Court will now examine whether Anil should be given for adoption to the Coateseven as it seeks a law for inter-country adoptions.