ADOPTION DEED IN INDIA

All about Adoption Deed

Adoption is taking a child’s custody from his biological parents through a legal process. Each country different law for adoption. Simultaneously, India has Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 that needs to be followed for adopting a child in India.

What is Adoption Deed?

Adoption Deed is a legal document that is prepared by the biological and adoptive parents of a child at the time of adoption in India. The document contains the basic information about parents and child with all the responsibilities and rights of adoptive parents along with the statement that the child is transferred from biological parents to adoptive parents according to the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956. It is essential to prepare a well formatted adoption deed by the advocate or legal attorney. The documents need to be signed by both parents along with the two witnesses.

What are the documents that need to be presented for preparing Adoption Deed?

  1. ID proof and Residence Proof of Biological Parents.
  2. ID proof and Residence Proof of Adoptive Parents.
  3. Age proof of Child.
  4. ID of witness
  5. Power of Attorney (If applicable).

 

Is it mandatory to register Adoption Deed in India?

No, it is not mandatory to have registered adoption deed in India but it is advisable to register adoption deed to avoid any legal consequences in future.

Is Adoption Deed valid in India?

If the adoption is done according to the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, the adoption deed is valid in India. The adoptive parents can approach to the District magistrate for a declaration decree that specifies that the adoption is done according to the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act. It can be extracted from the provisions of HAMA as Sec 16 of the HAMA stated as “ whenever any document registered under any law for the time being in force is produced before any court purporting to record an adoption made and is signed by the person giving and the person taking the child in adoption, the court shall presume that the adoption has been made in compliance with the provisions of this Act unless and until it is disproved.”  Moreover, if one of the prospective parents is from India or Overseas citizen of India Cardholder than the adoptive parents will be treated as Indian parents and the In-country adoption procedure will be followed. The adoptive parents can adopt any of the law either the parent law of the country or the Adoption Authority Regulations.

Surbhi Singla

Associate at Aggarwals & Associates, S.A.S Nagar Mohali.