Biological mom can also become adoptive mother of same child: Punjab & Haryana HC
The HC was hearing a petition filed by a couple against the 2021 order of the Bhiwani Family Court, which had dismissed their application under Section 56(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
Holding that application for adoption cannot be dismissed merely on the ground that a biological mother cannot become a mother in dual status – which is a biological mother as well as adoptive mother – the Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside an order of the Bhiwani Family Court in this regard.
The HC was hearing a petition filed by a couple against the 2021 order of the Bhiwani Family Court, which had dismissed their application under Section 56(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
The petitioner-appellants contended before the HC that appellant no. 2 (wife of appellant no. 1) initially was married to respondent (man) and a female child was born of this marriage in 2012. Later, the respondent-man and the appellant got divorced. Thereafter, appellant no. 2 (woman) married appellant no. 1 in 2017.
Both appellants then filed an application under Section 56 of the Act read with Regulations 52(4) and 55(2) of the Adoption Regulations for adoption of female
child, aged about seven years, daughter of the respondent. The appellants also submitted documents in relation to the consent of minor child that “she wants to stay with the appellants”.
The Family Court, however, dismissed the application observing that even if the application had been filed by both the step-mother and step-father, then also it was not maintainable, because a biological mother cannot become a mother in dual status i.e. a biological mother as well as adoptive mother.
The bench of Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Ashok Kumar Verma, after perusing the notification issued by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, held that as per sub-clause (1) of Regulation 52 of the notification, the couple that include step-parents and one biological parent shall register in Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System with the required documents as mentioned in Schedule VI. Hence, for all intents and purposes one biological parent can give child in adoption to the step-parents out of which one of them can be a biological father or biological mother.
The bench said that in the present case, all the required documents as per Schedule XX have been attached with the application and their “application cannot be dismissed merely on the ground that a biological mother cannot become a mother in dual status i.e. a biological mother as well as adoptive mother”.
“Since, as per Regulation 55, the definition of adoptive parent has clearly been given in sub-clause (2), and Regulation 52 (1) includes biological parent to be an adoptive parent, the impugned order is liable to be set aside,” said the bench while allowing the plea of the appellant-couple.
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