The court reaffirmed that the removal of a child from adoptive parents without due consideration of established bonds and legal procedures is unlawful, emphasizing the best interest of the child.

ORDER :

In this writ petition, the petitioner is seeking a writ of mandamus to set aside the order dated 09.12.2024 and publication dated 10.12.2024 by respondent No.2 as illegal, arbitrary and to declare that it was passed without considering the representations of the petitioner dated 31.05.2024, 07.06.2024, 11.12.2024 and 07.01.2025 and to pass such other order or orders in the interest of justice.

2. Brief facts leading to the filing of the present writ petition are that the petitioner claims to be the adopted mother of the child Perugu Bavya Shree. She claims that she along with her husband, adopted a child through adoption deed dated 28.06.2022 from the respondents No.5 and 6, who are the biological parents of the child. It is stated that though the petitioner and her husband were married for several years, they did not have any children and through a nurse, they came to know that there is a child for adoption and that the respondents No.5 and 6 have four girl children and therefore the 5^th child was offered for adoption and therefore, the petitioner and her husband paid Rs.1,50,000/- to them and have taken the child in adoption and have been taking care of the baby eversince and they have named the child as Perugu Bavya Shree. It is submitted that while the child was growing under the protected environment, the petitioner received a call from the respondent No.4 on 28.05.2024 instructing her and husband to bring the child to the police station and as soon as they reached the police station, the child was snatched away from their hands on 29.05.2024 without due process of law and the child was handed over to the custody of the respondent No.3 and the child was distressed and fainted in the station. It is stated that the petitioner thereafter filed a writ petition i.e., W.P.No.21108 of 2024 before this Court and the same was allowed by a common order dated 23.09.2024 in W.P.Nos.22020 of 2024 and batch, directing the respondents to handover the children to the adopted parents and also granted liberty to the petitioners therein to adopt the prescribed procedure for continuing the custody of the children with them, if they so desire by having validly executed adoption deeds or by following any other legal procedure which would allow them to retain their custody forever as observed by the Division Bench of Bombay High Court in its judgment dated 22.07.2024.

3. It is stated that aggrieved by the order of the single judge, the respondent No.2 filed a Writ Appeal No.1228 of 2024 against the order in W.P.No.21108 of 2024, dated 23.09.2024 and the same was disposed of on 28.11.2024 in W.A.No.1265 of 2024 and batch by observing that the Court was not inclined to disturb the custody of the children on account of non- compliance of Sections 36 , 37 and 38 of 2015 Act and observed that the Committee shall pass an order in terms of Section 37 of the 2015 Act within a period of two weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of the order passed by the Court and since some of the adoptive parents had filed an applications seeking adoption of the children, the competent authority was directed to decide the applications seeking adoption within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of copy of order passed and further observed that the custody of the children shall be subject to outcome of the said directions.

4. It is stated that without considering the petitioner’s application for adoption, which was pending with the authorities, the respondent No.2 passed the impugned order dated 09.12.2024 and the publication dated 10.12.2024 holding that all the children m