The Allahabad
High Court recently granted permission for a woman who is the mother of
four biological children to adopt a girl child. The court acknowledged that
such adoptions are restricted by law, but it emphasised that the child
recognised the woman as her mother and that there was a reciprocal bond of
love. As a result, the court ruled in favour of the child's best interests,
allowing the woman to legally adopt her.
The
bench of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Manjive Shukla said, "While the
law could not prevent the petitioner from giving birth to another child, it has
been relied to deprive the petitioner from bringing up another child as her
own. To take away X [the minor child] from the petitioner is the easiest part
of the law, but it is not possible for the law to find another set of parents X
may identify as its own. Therefore, the law must yield to justice…"
Furthermore, the
bench emphasised that exposing the young girl to the Child Welfare Committee
(CWC) proceedings, which revealed her abandonment and foster care situation,
was an unfortunate and unnecessary experience that should have been avoided for
the child's emotional well-being until she matured enough to deal with any
psychological trauma that might arise. "Ignorance would have been bliss
for X," the bench declared.
The court passed
the order in the writ petition moved by the woman assailing an order passed by
the CWC Fatehgarh, Farrukhabad. The committee had denied the petitioner's
application for the grant of a minor's foster care.