No fundamental right for Indians to adopt US citizen child of relatives, rules Bombay HC
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Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has ruled that Indian citizens do not have a fundamental right to adopt a child of American nationality, even if the child is a relative, unless the child is in need of care and protection or is in conflict with the law as defined under Indian regulations.
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by an Indian couple seeking to adopt their relative’s son, who is a US citizen by birth. The bench stated that the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the Adoption Regulations do not permit such adoptions unless the child falls into specific categories defined under the law.
“There is no provision in the Juvenile Justice Act nor the Adoption Regulations providing for adoption of a child of foreign citizenship even between relatives unless the ‘child is in need of care and protection’ or a ‘child is in conflict with law’” the court observed.
The judges further held that the petitioners do not have a “fundamental right” to adopt a child of foreign nationality and that there was no violation of any fundamental right of the child, who is an American citizen.
The court refused to invoke its extraordinary jurisdiction to grant relief in the case and directed the couple to follow the legal process in the United States for adoption.
The child, born in the US in 2019, has been living with the Indian couple in India since infancy. The couple sought to formally adopt the child, but their request was rejected by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), which cited that the Adoption Regulations do not support adoption of an American citizen unless the legal conditions of care or conflict are met.
CARA also informed the court that the couple cannot be registered as prospective adoptive parents under Indian law without the child first being legally adopted under US laws. Only after fulfilling adoption procedures in the United States could the couple proceed with post-adoption formalities to bring the child to India legally.
The court upheld CARA’s stance and concluded that it was not inclined to grant the couple’s plea, reaffirming that domestic adoption laws do not extend to foreign nationals unless specific legal criteria are met.
