Indian Association For Promotion Of Adoption And Child Welfare Through Tanvi Jadhav Social Worker v. Bhadresh Mistry And ANR(Prop.Adopters) And Rudraksh(Minor)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

ORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION AND IN ITS GENERAL AND INHERENT JURISDICTION INDIAN ADOPTION PETITION NO. 31 OF 2021 WITH JUDGE'S ORDER NO. 53 OF 2021 Indian Association for Promotion of Adoption & Child Welfare through Tanvi Jadhav Social Worker

...Petitioner

Versus

Bhadresh Mistry And Anr.

... Proposed Adopters & Rudraksh (Minor) .....

Mr. Pushkar Nagpurkar - Advocate for the Petitioner. Mr. O. Hareendran, Scrutiny Officer, Indian Council of Social Welfare, present.

Mr. D. R. Talekar - Chamber Registrar, present. .....

CORAM : DAMA SESHADRI NAIDU, J.

DATE : 18th JUNE 2021.

P.C. :

Heard Shri Pushkar Nagpurkar, the learned counsel for the Petitioner, and Shri O. Hareendran, the Scrutiny Officer, Indian Council of Social Welfare (ICWS), in the Court through a VC link.

2. The petition proposes adoption of a boy, Rudraksh, born on 05 June 2019. On 14.06.2019, MCT Railway

Police, Mumbai, found the child abandoned. They handed over the baby to the petitioner institution-I.A.P.A., Mumbai-on the same day. Later, the Child Welfare Committee, Mumbai City-I, inquired and passed the ' legally free for adoption' order under Section 38 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 on 19 October 2020. The order is placed on record.

3. The proposed adoptive parents are Indian nationals residing at Borivali, Mumbai. They are aged about 44 and 45 years, having been married for the past 21 years with no biological child. However, they have one adopted daughter by name Shivani, aged about 5 years. The proposed adopters' motivation letter has been placed on record. In that letter, they state that they both have always dreamt of being parents, but they remained childless. With the knowledge that adoption is a great option of becoming parents, they adopted a girl child. Now, they wanted to adopt another child. The Adoption Committee, in its meeting held online on 23 December 2020, granted principal approval for adoption, subject to the proposed adopters' furnishing the required documents.

4. The prospective adoptive father has been selfemployed (Architecture and Interior) for the last 10 years with a gross income of Rs.5,71,130/-; the prospective adoptive mother is a homemaker. Financial documents, such as salary slips, copies of PAN card, AADHAR card,

provident fund statement of the adoptive father have been placed on record together with proof of residence and other supportive documents.

5. Medical reports of the adoptive parents showing that they are in good health for adopting the child, along with their negative HIV and other test reports, have also been placed on record.

6. A home study report of Part-I: Self assessment and assessment report in Part-II by the Social Worker of Bal Vikas Shishu Welfare Trust of India, Malad, Mumbai, have also been placed on record. The said report has considered and found the proposed adoptive parents suitable for adopting a child.

7. Child security undertaking, furnished by the prospective adoptive mother'

s sister and the brother-in-law, residing at Surat, Gujarat, has been placed on record. They offer to look after the minor child if any mishap befalls the prospective adoptive parents.

8. The minor's medical examination report, indicating the child to be a normal and healthy one and countersigned by the prospective parents, has been placed on record. It is filed together with the prospective adoptive parents' declaration of consent and willingness. Health certificates, such as negative HIV report, of the minor have been placed on record.

9. Considering the material placed on record, some of which has been referred to above, and compliances noted as above, this Court is of the view that the adoption petition deserves to be allowed. In this regard, the report of the Scrutiny Officer, dated 09 June 2021, is taken on record, marked 'X' for identification.

10. The petition is, accordingly, allowed in terms of prayer clauses (a) to (d).

11. In tune with this Court'

s practice note for Indian adoptions, the prospective adoptive parents have offered to invest in the child's name Rs.2 lakh and submit a report of such investment.

12. A separate Judge'

s Order for appointing the prospective adopters as adoptive parents of minor Rudraksh is signed by this Court today.

[DAMA SESHADRI NAIDU, J.]