‘Law must yield to justice’: Allahabad HC allows woman with 4 biological children to adopt minor girl

The Allahabad High Court recently allowed a mother of four biological children to adopt a girl child. The court acknowledged the legal limitations of such an adoption but emphasized that the child recognized the woman as her mother and that a mutual bond of love existed. Therefore, the court ruled in the best interests of the child and allowed the woman to formally adopt her.

A bench of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Manjive Shukla said: “While the law cannot prevent the petitioner from having another child, it is held to have deprived the petitioner of custody. The other child as its own child. Taking X away from the applicant is the easiest part of the law, but it is impossible for the law to find another pair of parents that X can identify as its own. Therefore, the law must yield to justice…”

Furthermore, the judge strongly emphasized that subjecting the young girl to Child Welfare Committee (CWC) proceedings, which revealed her abandonment and foster care, was an unfortunate and unnecessary experience that should be avoided for the sake of the child’s emotional well-being. experience until she is old enough to deal with the possible psychological trauma.

“For X (the minor child), ignorance is bliss,” the judge said.

The court passed the order in a writ petition filed by the woman challenging the order passed by CWC Fatehgarh, Farrukhabad. The Board denied the petitioner’s application for foster care of the minor children.

In 2014, the child, who was just a few days old, was handed over to the woman by someone of the third gender. The woman took care of the child until October 2021, when the same person kidnapped her.

After the woman complained to the CWC, the child was rescued and returned to her custody. However, a year later, the child was sent by the committee to a government asylum. Later, two people claimed the child was theirs and took DNA tests, ultimately proving their biological parents wrong. When the woman subsequently sought foster care for her children, her application was rejected by the board.

The High Court noted that the woman sincerely wanted to be with her children. The report states that the woman had been visiting the child at a government shelter and complained that she was not given enough time with the girl and was not allowed to hold the child in her arms.

The court clearly emphasized that the child’s counseling report recounted the care provided to her by the petitioner before her abduction and the purity of the bond that existed between the petitioner and the girl.

“Obviously, this reflects the fact that X grew up knowing that the plaintiff was her mother. In the absence of any adverse circumstances or reports, this fact may be sufficient to allow foster care in the applicant’s favour,” it said.

The HC further held that the order passed by the district probation officer, which held that the woman was not legally eligible to adopt the child, was mechanical and completely vague.

Therefore, the court allowed the woman to apply for adoption of the child and asked the CWC to give custody of the girl to the applicant.

The court also directed the district probation officer to submit periodic reports on the girl’s development, initially monthly for the first six months and thereafter as required by law.