The Delhi High Court recently affirmed the modifications made to the Adoption Rules issued under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2015, which prohibit parents from adopting a “normal child” if they already have two children, ruling that the right to adopt children is not a fundamental right [Debarati Nandee v. Union of India & Anr + Connected matters].
According to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, a normal child is one who does not have any disabilities.
Justice Subramanium Prasad also affirmed the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) Steering Committee’s ruling, which stated that even prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) whose registrations and applications were completed prior to the law’s enactment would not be eligible to adopt a third child if they are already parents to two.
The Court ruled that as the goal of the policy change is to increase the number of adopted children with special needs, it cannot be said that the decision to apply the policy, even to applications that are currently pending, is arbitrary.
“The significant discrepancy between the number of normal children up for adoption and the number of PAPs hoping to adopt a normal child must be considered in the context of the protracted wait for prospective parents, including those without even one biological child. In view of adoption and the best interests of the child, a balanced approach that aims to shorten the wait for parents with a single child or none at all should be applauded, the Court stated. This approach would match the child with a family that has fewer biological children already.
According to Justice Prasad, the right to adopt cannot be elevated to the level of a basic right under Article 21 (right to life and liberty) or to the point where PAPs are able to seek the ability to choose who they adopt.
The study came to the conclusion that the Adoption Regulations of 2022 are procedural in nature rather than retrospective.
“It is also concluded that the Petitioners have no vested right towards the adoption of a normal child retroactively at the pre-referral stage of adoption,” Justice Prasad stated.
(Debarati Nandee v Union of India & Anr)
Name – Tanya Kumari, 2nd year, Ballb, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, Legal Intern under Legal Vidhiya.
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