Guidelines for a valid adoption of a Child

Persons who may be adopted - No person shall be capable of being taken in adoption unless the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:

(i) he or she is a Hindu;

(ii) he or she has not already been adopted;

(iii) he or she has not been married, unless there is a custom or usage applicable to the parties which permits persons who are married being taken in adoption;

(iv) he or she has not completed the age of fifteen years, unless there is a custom or usage applicable to the parties which permits persons who have completed the age of fifteen years being taken in adoption.

one of the conditions inter alia is that the person who may be adopted has not completed the age of 15 years unless there is a custom and usage applicable to the parties which permit persons who completed the age of 15 years being taken in adoption. 

Other conditions for a valid adoption - In every adoption, the following conditions must be complied with:

(i) 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 (whether by legitimate blood relationship or by adoption) living at the time of adoption;

(ii) if the adoption is of a daughter, the adoptive father or mother by whom the adoption is made must not have a Hindu daughter or son's daughter (whether by legitimate blood relationship or by adoption) living at the time of adoption;

(iii) if the adoption is by a male and the person to be adopted is a female, the adoptive father is at least twenty-one years older than the person to be adopted;

(iv) if the adoption is by a female and the person to be adopted is a male, the adoptive mother is at least twenty-one years older than the person to be adopted;

(v) the same child may not be adopted simultaneously by two or more persons;

(vi) the child to be adopted must be actually given and taken in adoption by the parents or guardian concerned or under their authority with intent to transfer the child from the family of its birth or in the case of an abandoned child or a child whose parentage is not known, from the place or family where it has been brought up to the family of its adoption:

Provided that the performance of datta homam shall not be essential to the validity of adoption.

The child to be adopted must be actually given and taken in adoption by the parents or guardian concerned or under their authority with the intent to transfer the child from the family of its birth. A child who is abandoned or whose parentage is not known may also be taken in adoption provided the given and taken ceremony is done from the place of family where it has been brought up to the family of its adoption.

Article by Advocate Mr.K.P.Satish Kumar

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