Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The only codified law available for adoption in India, is THE HINDU
ADOPTION AND MAINTENANCE ACT (HAMA) This Act came into force in
1956 and is applicable to:
development.
religion.
You are a Hindu male, over twenty one years, single and of sound
mind.
If you are a married Hindu Male, only with the consent of the wife.
If you are a female Hindu of sound mind and single viz. either
married, widowed or divorced.
The adopted child enjoys all the rights of the biological child.
Personal law of Muslims, Christians, Parsis and Jews does not recognise
complete adoption. As non-Hindus do not have an enabling law to adopt a
child legally, those desirous of adopting a child can only take the child in
'guardianship' under the provisions of The Guardian and Wards Act, 1890.
This however does not provide to the child the same status as a child born
biologically to the family.
How to Adopt?
Given below are the Licensed Agencies who are authorised to do Adoption.
INTER-COUNTRY ADOPTION:-
Once you apply to the Social Welfare Agency of your Country, they
will require certain important details of your family. The Agency will
appoint a Social Worker to visit your home and meet the family
members. This will be done to ensure that the family adopting a child
will be able to provide all the emotional and financial support to the
adopted child. The Social Worker will prepare a report after visiting
your family which will be called as Home Study Report. The Home
Study Report would have details like family background, relationship
between the family members , employment status of the couple,
health details of the family, economic status, reasons for wanting to
adopt an Indian child etc
Once the Home Study report is prepared, the Home Study Report
along with the original application, will be sent to a recognised Indian
Placement Agency from the Social Welfare Agency of your country
directly. After receiving your application, the recognised Indian
Agency will examine the Home Study Report and match the Home
Study Report with the child study report (Child Study Report is
Once the Indian Agency is able to match the home study report and
child study report, they will send the details of the child with the
photograph and the medical report to the agency of your country.
The photograph and other details will be shown to you and once you
give your approval to adopt the child, the Indian Placement Agency
after getting clearance from Government of India, will process the
case with the competent court for awarding the guardianship of the
child to you. The competent court within the stipulated time will
award the guardianship of the child to you
After getting the court order, the Indian Agency will obtain the Indian
passport and Visa for the child and the child will leave the country
either with the prospective adoptive parent or with an escort to his or
her new home.
No money will be charged by the adoption agency for giving the baby
to you in adoption except the maintenance charges which the agency
might have incurred in keeping the child in the agency. These
charges also will be fixed by the court, on the basis of the
representations made by the recognised agency.
IN-COUNTRY ADOPTION:-
Once the Agency receives your application, they will ask a Social
Worker of their Institute to visit your home to meet you and your
family members. The Social Worker will ask you questions about
your family, about your married life, about your family members,
economic status of the family etc., This is essential to ensure that the
future of the adopted child is in safe hands. The social Worker will
also ask you to mention your preferences for the child you are going
to adopt-like age of the child etc.,
Once the Social Worker has visited your home, she will prepare a
Home Study Report about your family. According to your preferences
the concerned agency will then match a child to you. You will be sent
All Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, or Sikhs can legally adopt under the
'Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956' whereas the Muslims,
Christians and others can take a child in guardianship under the
'Guardians and Wards Act of 1890'.