Supreme Court Directs Central Adoption Resource Authority To Issue NOC In Plea Seeking To Ease Inter-Country Adoption

In a plea relating to ease the procedure for inter-country adoption, the Supreme Court (March 24) directed CARA to issue a No Objection Certificate in 4 weeks to steadfast the adoption process. 

The bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice SC Sharma was hearing a petition seeking the inter-country adoption of two children by a 49-year-old single Indian woman who resides in the United Kingdom.

The Court has directed Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) within 4 weeks to facilitate the inter-country adoption. 

The petitioner, an Overseas Citizen of India, wanted to take her adopted children to the UK along with her. She is aggrieved by the procedural challenges coming her way for seeking a NOC from the CARA to complete the inter-country adoption.

The petitioner adopted her brother's twin children (born out of surrogacy) under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956 (HAMA) on January 9, 2020, through an adoption ceremony with the consent of the parties. An adoption deed confirming the said adoption was entered into on September 19, 2022. It may be noted that the biological mother of the twins had died in 2023 in an accident and the petitioner's brother was single-handedly parenting the children before the adoption took place.

The petitioner has challenged the Madras High Court order of April 17, 2024, which held that CARA can proceed to issue an NOC only after there is a legal recognition of the adoption by the UK Authorities in compliance with the International Conventions signed by both the countries. The petitioner in the High Court had sought a direction to CARA for issuing NOC as per the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption,1993 ( Hague Adoption Convention). The convention is ratified by both India and the UK.

Arguments Raised By The Petitioner 

It was contended that the impugned order overlooks the fact that the adoptions are governed by the HAMA and not the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act). It may be noted that the JJ Act deals with adoptions of those children who are orphaned, abandoned or surrendered by their parents.

It was argued that as per S. 56 (3) of the JJ Act, adoptions done as per HAMA shall be excluded from the domain of the JJ Act and Rules. Since the present case falls in inter-country relative adoptions, an NOC or 'support letter' is mandatorily required from the Indian Central authority designated under the Hague Adoption Convention.

S. 60 of the JJ Act provides the procedure where an inter-country adoption is done by a relative abroad. As per the provision, upon an Order being issued by the District Magistrate, CARA shall issue a NOC, which enables adoptive parents to obtain visas and other documents to travel abroad with adopted children. S. 68 (c) of the JJ Act empowers CARA to frame adoption regulations.

Regulation 68 of the Adoption Regulations 2022 details the procedure for inter-country adoption. It specifies that "cases initiated after 17 September 2021' shall follow the standard common procedure for inter-country adoption by NRIs. As per the standard procedure, the adoptive parents shall first contact the Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency for a sponsorship letter and only then proceed to obtain an NOC from CARA after a background check from the District Child Protection Unit and District Magistrate.

It is the case of the petitioner that the High Court has wrongly proceeded on the application of Regulation 68 which applies to adoptions done after 17 September 2021. In the present case, the adoption was done on January 9, 2020.

Advocates Anil Malhotra & Ankit Malhotra appeared for the petitioner.

Case Details : PREMA GOPAL vs. CENTRAL ADOPTION RESOURCE AUTHORITY| SLP(C) No. 014886 - / 2024