PIL for uniform grounds on adoption for all citizens in SC

PIL for uniform grounds on adoption for all citizens in SC

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before the Supreme Court asking for asking to remove all the differences in the grounds of adoption and guardianship and making them uniform for all citizens as the laws should be gender biased or shouldn’t be weighing towards any religion, as it should be a balanced one. According to the PIL it was stated that there is discrimination in the current practice of adoption, because while Hindus have a codified law regarding the same, Muslims, Christians, and Parsis (Zoroastrians) do not, thus making it inequivalent. The plea was brought forward by Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay and through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey demanding for the formation of uniform guidelines for adoption guardianship for all citizens and declaring that the discriminatory grounds of adoption and guardianship are violative of Articles 14, 15, 21 of the Constitution.

The petitioner further stated that Muslims, Christians, Parsis approach the court under Guardians & Wards Act, 1890 as there is no common law. Muslims, Christians and Parsis can take a child under the said Act only under foster care. Once a child under foster care becomes a major, he/she can break away all his relations. Moreover, such a child doesn’t have the legal rights of inheritance, which creates a lot of hardship and confusion among citizens. This can be very easily solved by having a uniform law of adoption and guardianship for all citizens. The differences in different religions make it so unequal and ambiguous that it sometimes leads to utter deterrence. As under the Hindu law the adopted child has the right to the ancestral property and can become a legal heir, while under the Muslim, Christian and Parsi law an adopted child did not have any such rights. In Hindus the adopted child has the same legal rights as of the biological child, whereas it is just the opposite for Muslims, Christians and Parsis. Adoptive parents can be the natural guardian of the adopted son and his wife under Hindu Law but not in Muslim, Christian and Parsi Law.

The plea also contended to lay down the directions to the Law Commission to consider the best practices of laws and international conventions and prepare a report on ‘Uniform Grounds of Adoption & Guardianship’ within three months.

By Nischay Pokhriyal