Delhi HC cuts through thicket of rules to help Indian-origin German couple adopt a child
The Delhi High Court came to the rescue of a child-less Indian-origin couple from Germany who had been unable to take their adopted child back home thanks to a maize of cumbersome rules governing inter-country adoptions.
Sneha Agrawal | Posted by Dev Goswami
New Delhi, November 16, 2017 | UPDATED 03:53 IST
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Germany-based Dalip Arora and his wife with their adopted son.Germany-based Dalip Arora and his wife with their adopted son.
Adoption in India is no child's play, thanks to a thicket of rules that proves a nettlesome test for most couples. In fact, instances of abuse have prompted activists to call for sterner laws.
But the Delhi High Court on Wednesday cleared the maze for an Indian-origin German couple, gifting the pair the joy of becoming parents to a 13-year-old.
The childless couple approached the HC after the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) did not accept their documents acquired under the Guardianship Act from the trial court.
Dalip Arora and his wife, who are close to their 50s, could not bear a child despite undergoing several medical procedures. However, they had taken a liking to Avinash (name changed) - the son of Dalip's younger brother Rajesh.
"My brother and his wife were upset with the fact that they were living a life without a child," Rajesh Arora told Mail Today. "Whenever they came to meet us, they would spend most of the time with Avinash. Avinash too was extremely fond of them and would ask them to take him along."
In 2015, the boy was handed over to his adoptive parents. When they went to the German consulate in India they were asked to approach CARA - the nodal authority for adoption of Indian children - for a no-objection letter. They told the court that they approached CARA several times but there was no response or assistance.
'CUMBERSOME PROCESS'
"Despite the fact that there is a valid adoption of the child by the adoptive parents and there is an adoption deed along with a judgment from the competent court ratifying the adoption, CARA asked the couple to go through a cumbersome process by making an application for adoption to CARA," said Sumita Kapil, the counsel for the couple.
During the adoption process in 2015, Avinash told the court that he loves his Taya and Tayi (uncle and aunt) who are now his parents and they too love him. In response to another court query that whether he will miss his siblings, he said he can talk to them on the phone and expressed the desire to settle with the petitioners in Germany for the sake of his education.
The counsel for CARA told the court that the body does recognise adoptions done under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, and the adoption order issued in the case. However, an NOC from CARA is mandatory for inter-country adoption as it is the central authority in India under the Hague Adoption Convention for which an application is required along with the requisite documents, the lawyer said.
The court observed that it would be a great injustice to the child if despite severing ties with his biological parents he is not united with his adoptive family.
"For over two and a half years, the minor child is living with uncertainty and, till date, has not been integrated with his adoptive family in the new country of residence," said justice Sanjeev Sachdeva.
The court also noted that the child's birth certificate and Aadhaar card had already been modified and names of his adoptive parents replacing those of his biological parents.
While directing CARA to issue a no-objection certificate to the couple within two weeks, the HC asked the ministry of external affairs to issue a passport to the child so he can be taken to Germany. The court also pointed out that it is a case of adoption between family members and not two strangers.
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