Laws Related To The Child Adoption Process In India
Laws related to the child adoption process in India The adoption procedure in India is governed by specific legislations that are applicable depending on the religion of the person who wants to adopt (called the 'adopter') a child (who is the 'adoptee'). There are two major adoptions laws that apply to adopters in India: The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA) This act deals with the adoption process for all Hindus in India. For legal purposes under this Act, a Hindu is defined as any person who is a Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Brahmo, Sikh, Prarthna or Arya Samaji. An important condition of this Act is that if a couple already has a biological child, they can only adopt children belonging to the opposite sex (i.e. a girl if they already have a boy and vice versa). All cases related to adoption are handled by the city civil courts under this Act. The Guardianship and Wards Act, 1890 This Act gives complete guardianship authority to all non-Hindus such as Christ...