Ahmedabad: A city civil court has rejected a couple’s plea to declare their deceased sister’s son as their adopted child, ruling that the adoption violated a mandatory condition under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, as they already had a biological son.
The court held that the existence of a living Hindu son at the time of adoption bars a couple from adopting another son under Section 11(i) of the Act. In August 2021, the child’s biological father executed a registered adoption deed in favour of his brother-in-law and his wife, the applicant couple. It ruled that neither a registered adoption deed nor the couple’s consent-based arrangement could override this statutory restriction. The couple had approached the court seeking a declaration that their nephew had been adopted by them through a valid process. They also sought directions to change his birth certificate, Aadhaar card , school records and other official documents to reflect their names as his parents. However, the court noted that the couple had expressly admitted in their application that they had a son of their own, who was alive when the adoption deed was executed.
The biological father subsequently filed an affidavit before the court stating that he had no objection to the adoption or the proposed changes in the child’s official records.
It needs mentioning that under Section 11 (ii) of the Act, if the adoption is of a daughter, the adoptive father or mother must not have a Hindu daughter or son’s daughter. The court said, “The fact that the applicants have been taking care of the child, providing him education, treating him as their own son or that the opponent, being his natural father, executed a registered Adoption Deed cannot override the express statutory prohibition contained in Section 11(i). Since the alleged adoption itself cannot be held to be valid under the provisions of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, the consequential reliefs also cannot be granted. ”
The court referred to section 11(i) of the Act that says, “If the adoption is of a son, the adoptive father or mother by whom the adoption is made must not have a Hindu son, son’s son or son’s son’s son (whether by legitimate blood relationship or by adoption) living at the time of adoption”. Rejecting the application, the court finally said, “The applicants have sought consequential corrections in the birth certificate, Aadhaar Card, school records and other government and semi-government records on the basis of the alleged adoption.