Adoption racket: SC notice to Centre

Adoption racket: SC notice to Centre

Reporter

Saturday, May 05, 2012 AT 04:31 PM (IST)

Tags: SC,   CARA,   CBI,   WCD,   adoption,   adoption racket,   NGO,   Sakhee,   Advait foundation,   Pune

PUNE: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Union government, CBI and the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), an autonomous body under the ambit of the Ministry of Women and Child Development(WCD), in response to a writ petition demanding suspension of inter-country adoption in the absence of a law monitoring such adoptions.

A bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai issued notices on a petition filed by a city-based NGO Sakhee and Mumbai-based Advait Foundation, arguing that inter-country adoption has turned into a lucrative business, as adoption agencies are giving undue preference to prospective adoptive parents in foreign countries over Indian couples in need of children.

The petition has also alleged that many ‘missing’ children reach adoption agencies from where they are shipped out to foreign destinations.

“Without involving adoption agencies, the government should give higher budgetary allowance to the ministry of women and child development. Also full rights must be given to access all documents related to their adoptions so as to enable the children to find back their identity and biography, who have been already sent to foreign countries, who were deprived of their original identity, their citizenship, their religion, their language and culture. The ministry of overseas Indian affairs to set up a special programme / scheme for all the about 40,000 children/ adults who have been shipped abroad for inter-country adoption, so as to enable them to , to trace back their roots and Indian families, to learn the Indian language and get acquainted with their original religion and culture,” stated the petition.

WRIT PETITION

- The petition has sought a detailed investigation into the procurement of children through extortion, blackmail, threats and through bribery of government officials.

- The NGOs have sought directions from the Centre to enforce all the obligations of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child