Nagpur: HC asks Child Welfare Committee to decide on adopted kid’s custody as DNA test confirm’s mother

NAGPUR: The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court has directed the Chandrapur Child Welfare Committee (CWC) to decide whether to hand over a two-year-old child’s custody to her birth mother, or a couple who raised the baby since soon after birth. The girl is currently placed in a home for destitutes.

The girl was born out of a live-in relationship in December 2019, and in March 2020 handed over to a childless couple after the petitioner was unable to take care of her. Even the girl’s father refused to look after her, and none of the relatives supported the petitioner as she was an unwed mother. The HC had ordered DNA tests of the petitioner and the child on September 19, to confirm she was her biological mother.

“The DNA profiling of the child and the petitioner has been done. The report is that she is the biological mother of the girl. In this view of the matter, we dispose of the petition by requesting the CWC to take an appropriate decision, consistent with the DNA profiling report, and of course keeping in mind the interest and welfare of the child,” a division bench comprising justices Rohit Deo and Urmila Phalke Joshi said, while allowing the petitioner to interact with her daughter subject to administrative convenience.

The backdrop of their order was a complaint lodged by the petitioner alleging that the foster parents had induced her to deliver the custody of the child, and prepared a false and fabricated document purporting to be an adoption deed which was notarized. “We are not delving deeper in the rest of the allegations in her complaint since we are informed the foster parents have instituted civil suit seeking to establish rights as adoptive parents,” the judges said, while directing the CWC to admit the kid into the remand home for destitutes.

According to the petitioner, when she found that the couple lacked financial resources, she demanded they hand over the child’s custody back to her. After the couple declined, she approached the district child protection officer.

When the dispute between the two families reached the CWC in Chandrapur, it ordered the couple to hand over the girl’s custody to the social welfare organization running the home for the destitute children. On May 2, the CWC directed a child protection officer to conduct a DNA test of the girl with the help of Ramnagar police station inspector and submit the report immediately.

The petitioner through counsel Anil Dhawas approached HC for getting the girl’s custody contending that since she had given birth to her, she was her natural mother and had first right on her. After HC directives, she expressed willingness to undergo DNA test, but expressed inability to bear the expenses of Rs20,000 required for it. However, she agreed to pay the charges in the next hearing.

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