Christian Law of Adoption in India - Legislative Attempts

Legislative Attempts

There is no specific statute enabling or regulating adoption among Christians in India. In the absence of a statutory or customary adoption recognized by courts, foster children are not treated in law as children. On death of the foster parents, their estate is distributed among legal heirs of the intestate, to the detriment of foster children.

In the past, persons who wished to adopt a minor child usually approached the Court under the provisions of the Guardians and Wards Act of 1890 to obtain an order of guardianship for the minor child. Difficulties arose when the child attained the age of majority. The Guardians and Wards Act order did not apply once the child became a major, so the child did not get the benefits of an adopted son or daughter.

To overcome these difficulties, the Central Government introduced the Adoption of Children Bill, 1972 in the Rajya Sabha, but it was subsequently dropped, presumably because of Muslim opposition to a uniform law of adoption applicable to all communities including Muslims. To accommodate Muslim community sentiments and religious susceptibilities, the Adoption of Children Bill, 1980—introduced in the Lok Sabha eight years later on December 16, 1980—did not apply to Muslims. Apart from this change, the 1980 bill was substantially the same as the 1972 bill. The 1980 has, however, not been enacted into law. Later, in 1990 the Christian Adoption and Maintenance Bill, 1990 was mooted by various Christian Organizations, but that too could not make its entry in the statute book. Had any of these been enacted, Christians and such other communities could have availed of the benevolent provisions for adoption.