IMPORTANT POINTS
(1) Statutory requirements - Competent Court was required to verify whether the statutory requirements were complied with and, after scrutinising the record of the proceedings, form an opinion as to whether the application for adoption was in the interest of the child.
(2) Single parent - When the statute recognises a single parent to be eligible for being an adoptive parent, the approach of the Competent Court defeats the very object of the statute.
(3) Single parent - By no stretch of the imagination, a single parent can be held to be ineligible to be an adoptive parent on the ground that he/she is a working person.
(4) Guesswork - The Competent Court has erroneously rejected the application by doing guesswork. The comparison done by the Competent Court between the biological mother being a housewife and the prospective adoptive mother (single parent) being a working lady reflects a mindset of the medieval conservative concepts of a family.

JUDGMENT

Per Court:

Admit. Mr. Pulkundwar learned AGP waives service for the Respondent. Civil Revision Application is taken up for final disposal.

2. This Civil Revision Application is filed under Section 102 of the Juvenile Justice (Care And Protection of Children) Act 2015 (‘the JJ Act’) for challenging the Order dated 8th March 2022, passed by the learned District Judge -1 at Bhusawal in Civil Miscellaneous Civil Application No. 24 of 2020. The said application was filed by the present revision applicants under Section 56(2) of the JJ Act read with Rules 51 and 55 of the Adoption Regulations, 2017 (“Regulations of 2017”). These Regulations of 2017 are now superseded by the Adoption Regulations 2022 (“Regulations of 2022”) made applicable from the publication in the official gazette on 23rd September 2022.

3. Applicant no.1, being a prospective adoptive parent, had registered in the child adoption and resource information and guidance assistance for the adoption of a minor child, namely, Aayat Fatima, born on 15th November 2019. By the impugned Order, said application for the adoption of the minor child has been rejected.

4. It is the case of the Applicants that on 13th August 2020, they filed Civil Miscellaneous Application No. 24 of 2020 before the Learned District Judge -1, Bhusawal, for seeking adoption of the minor child and declaration of Applicant No. 1 as a parent. The Applicants also prayed for issuing directions to the Municipal Council for modifying the birth certificate of the minor child as per Rule 36 of the Regulations of 2017.

5. The learned Counsel for the Applicants submitted that after following the necessary procedure, a detailed report was prepared by the District Child Protection Unit. All the necessary verifications regarding the status and health of the prospective parent and the child and the financial condition of the parties was done. However, the learned Judge has rejected the application on the erroneous ground that the prospective parent is a single lady and a divorcee. The learned Judge, without any basis, observed that the prospective parent being a working lady, will not be able to give personal attention to the child per contra the biological parents would be in a better condition to take care of the child.

6. The learned Counsel for the Applicants submitted that the observations of the learned Judge are contrary to the report submitted by the District Child Protection Unit and the pre-approval letter issued by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (“CARA”). The learned Counsel submitted that all the procedural statutory requirements were fully complied with, and thus there was no reason to reject the application for adoption. The learned Counsel submitted that the reason recorded by the learned Judge for rejecting the application is perverse and unjust. It was thus submitted that the impugned Order be set aside, and the Application for adoption made by the Applicants be allowed.

7. The learned AGP fairly submitted that perusal of the record showed that all the statutory compliances were done, and CARA has issued a pre-approved letter for finalizing the adoption case by completing the procedure for issuance of the Adoption Order. He, therefore, submitted that appropriate Order may be passed.

8. I have perused the record of the Civil Revision Application and the relevant provisions of law. Revision Applicant nos.2 and 3 are the biological parents of the child, and they had submitted the necessary consent form for the purpose of adoption of the child by Revision Applicant no.1. The prospective adoptive parent is the real sister of the biological mother.

9. It is necessary to refer to the relevant provisions of the JJ Act and the Regulations of 2017. The present case is the in-country adoption of a minor child by a relative from another relative. Sub-section (2) of Section 56 permits the adoption of a child from a relative by another relative irrespective of their religion by following the p