Couple refuses to adopt differently-abled child, High Court restrains it from future adoptions
Bombay high court, adoption case, CARA, different-abled kid, Mumbai news, Indian Express The court also directed the CARA to arrange for the child’s adoption in India or abroad on a priority basis. (Express photo)
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After a Karnataka-based couple refused to adopt a differently-abled girl child, the Bombay High Court has directed the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to ensure that the couple is not allowed to adopt any other child without its permission. It has also ordered that the medical condition of the child be known to her future prospective parents.
In April, a couple — aged 50 years and 45 years — had applied for adoption of a three-and-half-year old girl before the Asha Sadan Balgruh, an adoption group. However, they allegedly refused to adopt the girl as she had a speech problem. Following this, the adoption group moved the HC.
In an affidavit filed on April 27, the adoption group stated: “The adoptive parents have declined to proceed with the adoption because the girl has a speech impediment and requires speech therapy.” Officials from Asha Sadan Balgruh also informed the court that during the short period of time that the couple had spent with the girl, she had got “extremely attached to the adoptive father”.
Last month, while restraining the couple from any future adoptions, Justice G S Patel said: “This is for the reason that I do not wish to see another situation of this kind at the hands or instance of these two parents. Hence, should these two prospective adoptive parents seek to take any other child in adoption, that child will not be released in to their pre-adoptive foster care without a specific order of this court.”
“I have made this direction specifically to protect the emotional welfare of any future child who may be taken for adoption,” he added.
The court also directed the CARA to arrange for the child’s adoption in India or abroad on a priority basis. “Any future adoptive parents will of course need to be made fully aware of this existing medical condition and will have to undertake to provide the necessary speech therapy,” it added.
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