Delhi High Court rules in favour of children with special needs in adoption cases
The court’s ruling states that adoption is not a fundamental right under Article 21 of the constitution nor do prospective parents have a right to choose the child. Parents with two biological children cannot apply for “normal” children. About 98 per cent of children at home run by the Sisters of Charity have special needs, nun says.
Delhi (AsiaNews) – The right to adopt a child is not a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution and would-be adoptive parents cannot claim the right to choose who they want to adopt, the Delhi High Court (DHC) ruled recently.
The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) chose this policy to ensure that children with special needs are adopted, DHC Justice Subramonium Prasad said.
According to CARA, which regulates the adoption process, adoptive parents must register directly under a single national waiting list drawn up by CARA itself.
The latter also maintains a national list of available children, and prospective parents whose backgrounds have been approved can be matched with a child at any agency across the country.
The DHC was called to settle a dispute over the right to adopt of parents who already have two children, regardless of the date of registration.
According to the court, the couple in question could not adopt a “normal” child under the Adoption Regulations, 2022, but could only opt for a child with special needs.
Stressing that adoption is not a basic right and that there is no longer a choice, the court upheld the principle that the entire process operates primarily for the well-being of the children, not of the adult couples who wish to adopt.
The court also noted that the waiting list is long, and many childless or single-child couples wish to welcome another child.
In addition, the aim of the regulations is to encourage the adoption of children with special needs and favour a "balanced approach" that meets the actual needs of children.
Several parents with two biological children who want a third child have filed a petition to adopt. During the pendency of their applications, the new adoption rules were approved in 2022, replacing the Adoption Regulations, 2017.
Now couples with two or more children can only opt for hard-to-place children or children with special needs, unless they are relatives or stepchildren.
Speaking to AsiaNews, a member of the Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa praised the decision, which put to a stop practises that excluded or relegated the most unfortunate to the margins.
“In my many, many years as a Missionary of Charity Sister, there have been very few requests for special needs children," she said, although “most of our children, 98 per cent, are special needs children.”
In Mumbai, the Children’s Home (Shishu Bhavan) run by the Missionaries of Mother Teresa has 104 children with special needs under the age of 18, some of whom are “HIV-positive, with cerebral palsy, mentally or physically challenged.”
.png)
09/04/2019 13:19
