Supreme Court Slams CARA for Blocking US Adoption of Orphan Girl
The Supreme Court on Wednesday criticised the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) for what it termed an 'obstructionist' approach in a case involving the adoption of a 12-year-old orphan girl by her US-based maternal aunt and her husband.
The girl lost her mother two years ago. Her aunt and uncle adopted her under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA) through a 'Datta Homam' ritual. However, they have since been unable to take the child to the United States due to a conflict between Indian and US inter-country adoption frameworks.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi heard the matter urgently, as the adoptive parents faced a July 28 deadline for the validity of their US adoption approval. The couple had completed all legal requirements for inter-country adoption through a US government agency, but CARA refused to grant clearance under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, citing its office memorandum that disallows dual adoption procedures.
Advocate Noor Shergill, representing the couple, told the court that they were caught in a 'catch-22 situation'. 'The adoptive parents are caught in a bilateral deadlock from which no administrative remedy provides an exit. India will not process the case through JJ Act, and the US will not issue a Hague Adoption Certificate for a HAMA adoption,' she argued.
Justice Nagarathna expressed strong displeasure with CARA's stance. 'This is all bureaucratic red tapism. If after inquiry the HAMA adoption is found to be in order, what is the problem in issuing no objection by CARA?' she asked. She recalled a similar case where a woman wanted to take motherless twins to the UK, but was met with obstacles. 'Why do you adopt such an obstructionist approach when close relatives are adopting a motherless child?' the bench questioned.
'Why are you coming in the way of a child having a better future? Why are you taking a negative stand in the matter?' the court added, before directing CARA to take necessary steps to process the application without prejudice to their contentions. The matter has been posted for further hearing on July 14.
The case highlights the clash between India's HAMA and the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, which the US follows. Under the Hague Convention, adoptions must meet specific safeguards, and HAMA adoptions are not recognised as legally safe. Conversely, CARA's regulations prevent processing under the JJ Act if the adoption was done under HAMA, leaving families in a legal limbo.
The Supreme Court's intervention aims to resolve this deadlock, ensuring the child's welfare and future are not compromised by administrative hurdles.
