Supreme Court urged to stop illegal adoption of children

Indian citizens can adopt in India under three major legislations
- The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956 which is applicable to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs.
- The Guardian and Wards Act of 1890 assist other religions i.e. Muslim, Parsi, Christian and Jews in adoption as there are no concrete provisions under their personal laws.
- The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act of 2015 covers the rehabilitation and social reintegration for orphan children and also allows secular adoption without any reference to the community or religious persuasions of the parents or the child concerned.

Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory body of the Ministry of Women & Child Development established in 1990.
It functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, 1993, ratified by India in 2003.
CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated /recognised adoption agencies.

The Supreme Court has agreed to intervene after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sounded the alarm on a spate of complaints about illegal adoption of children orphaned by COVID-19 through private individuals and organisations.
The NCPCR informed the apex court that it has received many complaints in May that private individuals and organisations have been actively collecting data on these children while claiming that they want to assist families and children in adoption. This is illegal and violates adoption laws in the country.
The NCPCR statistics shows that 3,621 children were orphaned, 26,176 children lost either parent and 274 children were abandoned between April 1, 2021 to June 5, 2021. The second wave of the pandemic was at its worst form during this period, leaving a trail of death across the country.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is a statutory body established under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005.
The commission works under the aegis of the Ministry of Women and Child development.
NCPCR is mandated to function for the protection and promotion of child rights. It is also mandated to monitor the implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The Commission may inquire into complaints and take suo motu notice of matters relating to-
- Deprivation and violation of child rights;
- Non-implementation of laws providing for protection and development of children;
- Non-compliance of policy decisions, guidelines or instructions aimed at mitigating hardships to and ensuring welfare of the children and to provide relief to such children;

The commission consist of the following members namely:-
- A chairperson who, is a person of eminence and has done a outstanding work for promoting the welfare of children; and
- Six members, out of which at least two are women, are appointed by the Central Government from amongst persons of eminence, ability, integrity, standing and experience in Education; Child health, care or related fields.

The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption is an international convention dealing with international adoption, child laundering, and child trafficking.
The Convention was developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, the preeminent organization in the area of private international law. It is an effort to protect those involved from the corruption, abuses, and exploitation which sometimes accompanies international adoption.
The Convention has been considered crucial because it provides a formal international and intergovernmental recognition of intercountry adoption to ensure that adoptions under the Convention will generally be recognized and given effect in other party countries.
The Convention applies to children under the age 16 years.
Number of Contracting Parties to this Convention: 103 (including India).

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