Right To Adopt Child Can't Be Fundamental Right, Declares Delhi High Court
NDTV
The court's decision came on a batch of petitions by several PAPs with two biological children who applied for adoption of a third child as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
The right to adopt a child cannot be raised to the status of a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution and the prospective adoptive parents do not have any right to choose who to adopt, the Delhi High Court has said.
Justice Subramonium Prasad upheld the retrospective application of a regulation permitting couples with two or more children to only adopt children with special needs or those hard to place, adding that the process operates for the welfare of children and the rights of prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) cannot be put at the forefront.
"The right to adopt cannot be raised to the status of a fundamental right within Article 21 nor can it be raised to a level granting PAPs the right to demand their choice of who to adopt. The adoption process in entirety operates on the premise of welfare of children and therefore the rights flowing within the adoption framework does not place the rights of the PAPs at the forefront," said the court in a recent order.
