Foreign Adoption racket In Indian Child on Now this is on SC radar
New Delhi: THE Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine a public interest litigation (PIL) which sought a probe into an alleged “international adoption racket” operating from India.
Recently A famous News Paper published news about nearly 5,000 issue less parents in the country are on the waiting list since many years for adoption, large number of people from foreign countries, mostly of Europe and US are flying down and managing to adopt Indian children 600 to 800 of them every year easily by paying lakhs of rupees per child.
“The issue is sensitive and important,” a bench of Justice Ranjana Desai told petitioner NGOs Advait Foundation and Sakhee. Their PIL sought a moratorium on foreigners adopting Indian children, alleging children who are being illegally taken away to foreign countries faced post- adoption abuse because of the absence of any inter- country adoption guidelines in place.
Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar urged the Bench to dismiss the PIL contending the same petitioners had filed a similar petition in the Bombay High Court. But the NGOs argued that the petition pending there was seeking a CBI probe into particular adoption cases and not a PIL. The SG also contended that detailed guidelines formulated on the basis of SC judgment in Lakshmi Kant Pandey ( 1984) were being strictly followed.
In 2012- 13 too, there was a decline in the figure as only 4,694 children were adopted in India. Child rights activists believe the long- drawn process for legal adoption is perhaps killing the joy of adopting a child. The average time taken for an in- country adoption varies from six to eight months, depending on the availability of adoptable children in adoption agencies. In some cases, the procedure takes even longer. “ The cumbersome procedure of legal adoption in India is killing the essence of emotions in adopting and rearing a child by making it legally arduous.
“Firstly, the child has to be made free for adoption by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), then the Central Adoption Resource Authority’s (CARA) guidelines come into play, where the child is selected by parents and then parents are selected by local civil courts. This is a lingering and discouraging process,” said Shashank Shekhar, member of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR).
“Earlier it was done by the Juvenile Justice Board, and the issue was later given to courts in 2006. The most saddening thing in the process is that the child stays with prefoster care during the adoption process. If it fails, the child comes back to the agency or childcare home. Most of the time, adoptive parents live in stress and fear whether they will get the child or not,” he said.
Considering the problems in adopting children, the government is revising existing guidelines for adoption of Indian children. The guidelines are being revised to further simplify the procedure and minimise delays.
“The issue is sensitive and important,” a bench of Justice Ranjana Desai told petitioner NGOs Advait Foundation and Sakhee. Their PIL sought a moratorium on foreigners adopting Indian children, alleging children who are being illegally taken away to foreign countries faced post- adoption abuse because of the absence of any inter- country adoption guidelines in place.
Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar urged the Bench to dismiss the PIL contending the same petitioners had filed a similar petition in the Bombay High Court. But the NGOs argued that the petition pending there was seeking a CBI probe into particular adoption cases and not a PIL. The SG also contended that detailed guidelines formulated on the basis of SC judgment in Lakshmi Kant Pandey ( 1984) were being strictly followed.
Why Adoption is Declining Trends In India
AT A time when an increasing number of people wait to adopt a child, the number of children adopted in India is gradually declining. According to data from the Ministry of Women and Child Development, a total of 3,924 children were placed in- country adoption during 2013- 14, down from 5,964 during 2011- 12.In 2012- 13 too, there was a decline in the figure as only 4,694 children were adopted in India. Child rights activists believe the long- drawn process for legal adoption is perhaps killing the joy of adopting a child. The average time taken for an in- country adoption varies from six to eight months, depending on the availability of adoptable children in adoption agencies. In some cases, the procedure takes even longer. “ The cumbersome procedure of legal adoption in India is killing the essence of emotions in adopting and rearing a child by making it legally arduous.
“Firstly, the child has to be made free for adoption by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), then the Central Adoption Resource Authority’s (CARA) guidelines come into play, where the child is selected by parents and then parents are selected by local civil courts. This is a lingering and discouraging process,” said Shashank Shekhar, member of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR).
“Earlier it was done by the Juvenile Justice Board, and the issue was later given to courts in 2006. The most saddening thing in the process is that the child stays with prefoster care during the adoption process. If it fails, the child comes back to the agency or childcare home. Most of the time, adoptive parents live in stress and fear whether they will get the child or not,” he said.
Considering the problems in adopting children, the government is revising existing guidelines for adoption of Indian children. The guidelines are being revised to further simplify the procedure and minimise delays.