How Adoption Laws Work for Unmarried Couple in India

Author - Associate Runa Jasia

An adoption is an act of legally taking the child of another person and bringing it up as one's own, or the fact of being adopted. For adopting any child, there is an act that was enacted by the government of India called The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (also called as HAMA). It was passed in the year 1956 by Parliament of India during the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru. This act follows the cultural tradition of Hindu culture. It states the process of adopting a child by a Hindu adult. Maintenance of a child should be done in a free, careful, and a right way. Other acts which support this legislation are the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, etc. can unmarried couples adopt? Many people adopt a child and handle them with all of their love towards them as they give to their own child. People are growing and changing their orthodox behaviour and thought regarding this matter. This act only applies to Hindus.

It includes:

•    A person who follows Hinduism in any form

•    A person who is a Buddhist or Jain

•    A child whose parents are Hindus, Buddhists, Jains or Sikhs

•    A person who is converted as a Hindu, Buddhists, Jains or Sikhs

All the people who belong to other religion are not included in this category. People who follow Islam, Christianity, Parsis, or Jews, etc., are not included in this act.

People who come under the Hindu category must have the capability to raise a child properly. They must provide a suitable environment for the growth of the child they will adopt. They must raise them without doing any form of discrimination and must give them all of their love as they give to their own child. A married man can also adopt any child. Can a couple adopt without being married? Unmarried Hindu men can also adopt a child, but they must not be a minor. A child must also be capable of being adopted. Also, unmarried Hindu women can adopt a child. These all ways are legal adoption ways of adopting a child in India.

People can adopt a male or a female child, but the adopted child must be a Hindu. The child must not be older than 15 years of age during the time of adoption. 

Adoption can occur only if there isn't a child of the same sex of the adopted child still residing in the home. But can unmarried couples adopt? It means that any married couple or an unmarried Hindu cannot adopt two children of the same sex. In particular, if a son is to be taken, then the adoptive mother or father must not have an adopted or legitimate son still living in the house.

In recent years a new regulation which is called as Adoption Regulations, 2017 was formed. According to this regulation “The Indian prospective adoptive parents irrespective of their religion, if interested to adopt an orphan or abandoned or surrendered child, shall apply for the same to Specialised Adoption Agencies through Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System by filling up the online application form.” According to this act, anyone can adopt a child irrespective of their religion; they have to be resident Indians. It does not restrict or limit the adoption of a child only for Hindus. This regulation provides equal rights to everybody who resides in India.

The official website is http://cara.nic.in.  The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory and regulatory body of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India. It operates as the nodal body for the adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated /recognized adoption agencies. 

Who can adopt a child according to this regulation? Can a couple adopt without being married?

• A person shall be mentally, emotionally, and physically stable. 

• An unmarried female can adopt a child of any gender

• Unmarried male cannot adopt a girl child. 

• Married couples (consent of both the persons is required)

• A person or a married couple can only adopt a child if they have had at least two years of a stable marital relationship. A newly married couple cannot adopt a child. 

• The minimum age gap between the child and either of the prospective adoptive parents shall not be less than twenty-five years.

Maximum age of single prospective parents can be 45 years or 50 years of age. For married adoptive parents maximum age can reach from 100 up to 110 years. Age of the child will also vary accordingly. Minimum age of a child can be four years. Maximum age limit is 18 years of age in case of a child. 

These laws and regulations related to adoption in India give the right to everybody irrespective of their religion, caste, or community. They also define the equal rights given to every individual of India.