Observing that disallowing a divorced “working lady” to adopt a child as she won’t be able to give proper care and attention to the adoptive child, indicates “medieval mindset”, the Bombay high court recently quashed the order of the city civil judge.
Justice Gauri Godse, On April 11, quashed the order of the city civil judge, Bhusawal, saying: “The comparison done by the competent court between the biological mother being a housewife and the prospective adoptive mother (single parent) being a working lady reflects a mindset of the medieval conservative concepts of a family.”
Justice Godse added that the approach of the civil court defeats the very object of the statute, which recognises a single parent to be eligible for being an adoptive parent. Also, a single parent is bound to be a working parent, added the HC.
“Generally, a single parent is bound to be a working person, maybe with some rare exceptions. Thus, by no stretch of the imagination, a single parent can be held to be ineligible to be an adoptive parent on the ground that he/she is a working person,” remarked justice Godse.
MP woman not allowed to adopt minor
The order was passed while dealing with an application filed by a Madhya Pradesh-based woman seeking permission to adopt the minor child, whose biological parents live in Jalgaon.
Her plea contended that she complied with the statutory requirements under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act (JJ Act) and also the Adoption Regulations, 2022. However, the civil court in Bhusawal rejected her adoption plea. She was disallowed her from adopting the child stating that the biological mother of the child was a housewife and thus could take better care of the child while the adoptive single mother was a working woman and would not be able to give personal attention.
Section 57 of the JJ Act provides the eligibility criteria of a prospective parent, which holds a single or divorced person eligible for taking a child in adoption. The section mandates that the prospective adoptive parent shall be physically fit, financially sound, mentally alert and highly motivated to adopt a child to provide a good upbringing to the child, noted Justice Godse in a detailed order.
Bombay HC wraps MP civil court
Hence, the reason given by the civil court is not only contrary to the provisions of the JJ Act but is also contrary to the recommendation made by the District Child Welfare Officer and the Assistant Director of CARA, said HC adding: “Even otherwise, the reason given by the civil court is unfounded and baseless.”
Noting that the civil court “erroneously rejected the application by doing guesswork”, the court said that there was nothing adverse against the adoptive single parent and in fact she had complied with the mandatory norms. The report of the District Child Welfare Officer held her to be a fit parent for adopting the child.
“The impugned order (of civil court) does not record anything adverse regarding the statutory compliances. The application is rejected only on one ground of the adoptive parent being a working lady. The reason recorded by the civil court is unfounded, illegal, perverse, unjust and unacceptable,” averred the judge while quashing the order.
