Mumbai: Mother takes legal recourse to get child back from ‘adoptive parents’

Woman who facilitated adoption, which was legally rejected, was later arrested for being child trafficker

After news reports on a woman, Julia Fernandez appeared that she was a child trafficker and sold infants, a mother moved a civil court, seeking to get her baby back from a couple with whom Fernandez had facilitated the adoption of the petitioner's infant.

The mother, an Ulhasnagar resident, had purportedly borne the child out of wedlock and had come in contact with Fernandez who convinced her for adoption. She had now married the father of the child.

In her application against the adoptive parents filed before a city civil court, she had sought that they be directed to return her baby. Her plea stated that she was unable to raise the infant due to personal difficulties. And, Fernandez facilitated his adoption to the couple, saying they are wealthy and her son will be well looked after.

Accordingly, she said the couple also filed an adoption petition in court. She said during the adoption proceedings, her husband informed the court that they did not want to go ahead with giving up their son for adoption. Accordingly, in March last year, the court rejected the couple's adoption petition. The mother said that despite that, the couple has not returned the child and are illegally holding his custody.

She said they had contacted the couple several times through Fernandez to return the baby, but the latter kept giving excuses and later started threatening them with a police complaint.

The petitioner said she learnt from media reports recently that Fernandez is a child trafficker and has been arrested. Subsequently, she approached the police, but was asked to get a court order. Her plea stated that having no other remedy, she has approached the court to direct the police in assisting her in recovering the child from the couple.