Adoption body orders inquiry into US case

Adoption body orders inquiry into US case
11 Jun 2009, 0151 hrs IST, Swati Deshpande, TNN

MUMBAI: The Central Adoption Resources Authority (CARA) has said that it has asked the Maharashtra government to conduct an inquiry and send a
report on certain points in the case of an `alleged' fraudulent adoption process carried out by an American agency 20 years ago.

27-year-old Jennifer Haynes, adopted by a US couple, had moved the Bombay high court after being suddenly deported to India in July last year from the US where she has a husband and children.

CARA deputy director Jagannath Patil in his report has said that CARA has communicated with the central agency in the US. He has also asked the Maharashtra government to conduct an inquiry and is awaiting the report.

The court had asked CARA to submit its report after Haynes' advocate Pradeep Havnur had argued that the entire adoption process was questionable. Patil said that CARA has asked the central authority of USA on adoption matters. It has asked the authority to provide details on how Jennifer could not be given citizenship and possible efforts on her rehabilitation. "CARA will be able to form an opinion only after receiving reports from these quarters,'' Patil said.

Haynes, who said she does not have proper documents, is also seeking action against the Americans for International Aid and Adoption (AIAA) which processed her adoption papers. Havnur said that her stay in the US was jeopardised because of an incorrect adoption process in violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 and the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Inter-Country Adoption.

Patil revealed that according to the communication received from AIAA, it had monitored Haynes' placement for a period of three years. According to the agency, it reported all alternative placements to the court in India and Indian Council of Social Welfare in the case of Jennifer. The agency took legal custody of her, brought her to Michigan and placed her in a foster home when there was disruption in her adoption.