ARTICLE ON ADOPTION UNDER HINDU LAW

“Be the one who beams the lives of children by adopting them”
Adoption is the process of taking up a child voluntarily as one’s own child through a legal
procedure. Here the question arises: who can adopt a child and how? Hindu Adoptions and
Maintenance Act (HAMA) 1956 deals with the legal procedure of adopting a child by a Hindu
person, who is willing to adopt a child and has a capacity to adopt that child. According to this
act, only Hindu adult can adopt a child. After adoption, a child who has been adopted
becomes the natural child and the person who adopts the child becomes the natural parent
of that child.
The process of adoption has been described in Manu Smriti. In Manu Smriti, the
adoption is the process of taking someone else’s son and bringing up as one’s own but
according to HAMA 1956, the process of adoption is slightly different than that of Manu
Smriti. According to HAMA 1956, a Hindu (including sub-Hindus) has a right to adopt a male
child or a female child only through a legal procedure. Under this act, the word “Adoption”
is used in a wider sense which includes a word “child” instead of “son”.
Now, let’s study the whole procedure of adopting a child which has been mentioned in
Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956. According to this act, a person who wants to
adopt a child, must be a Hindu and he/she must be capable of adopting a child. Section 5 to
17 of this act, deals with adoption. Section 5 of this act, states that adoption should be
regulated by the Chapter-2 of this act. Section 6 of this act, includes the essentials which has
been prescribed for a Hindu to adopt a child. Under this, adopting person has the rights and
capacity to adopt. The person who is giving up the child for adoption has the capacity to do
so. The person being adopted must be capable or has the capacity to be taken in adoption.
The adoption is made in compliance with the other conditions that are mentioned in
chapter two of this act.

Section 7 talks about the capacity of a Hindu male to take in adoption. Under this
section, a male who wants to adopt a child should be of sound mind, must have a wife who
is alive and her consent is necessary. He must be of 18 years of age. If a person is having
multiple wives, then the consent of all his wives is necessary. The consent of a wife is not
necessary if she has renounced the world or has converted her religion.
Section 8, mentions the capacity of a Hindu female to take in adoption. Under this
section, a Hindu female who wants to adopt a child, should be an adult, of sound mind and
if she is married and has a husband who is alive and he has renounced the world, then she
has the capacity to adopt a child. If the husband of a woman is of unsound mind or has died
can take a boy or a girl in adoption. A divorced Hindu woman also has the capacity to adopt
a child. Before Personal Law (Amendment) Act 2010, woman had very less rights to adopt a
child. Now the question arises: Who can give a child for adoption? The answer to this
question says that only the biological parents and the guardian of the child has the right to
give them for adoption. It has been clearly mentioned in section 9 of HAMA. According to
this section, biological father of a child can give a child for adoption only with the consent of

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a child’s biological mother. A biological mother can give her child for adoption if, the
biological father of the child is either dead or of an unsound mind. She can give her child for
adoption if her husband has renounced the world or has converted his religion. It has been
stated that the adoptive father or a mother do not have a right to give up their child for
adoption to other persons. Section 9 also includes that the guardian can also give up a child
for adoption but, the guardian has to seek permission from the court. The guardian must
ensure that the adoption is for the welfare of the child and he/she cannot demand money
from the adoptive parents in exchange for the child. Section 10 says that the child who has
been adopted must be a Hindu, has not been married and has not completed the age of 14
years. If there is any culture to adopt a child then a person who is willing to adopt a child
must prove his/her culture.

Section 11 of this act, includes other conditions which makes the adoption valid. It
includes a procedure for adoption of a son or a daughter. A Hindu male, who wants to adopt
a girl child, must be capable to adopt a child, must be at least 21 years older than a girl child.
If a female wants to adopt a male child, then she should meet the requirements of section 8
of this act and she must be capable to adopt a child. She must be 21 years older than a male
child. It has been mentioned in this section that a same child cannot be adopted
simultaneously by 2 or more persons. If a female or a male wants to adopt a son, then they
must not have their own son, their grandson and a great-grandson at the time of adoption.
If a male or a female wants to adopt a daughter, then they must not have their own
daughter, granddaughter or even a great-granddaughter.
Section 12 talks about the effects of adoption. Under this section, it has been mentioned
that after adoption, the previous relations of the adopted child end up and new ties are
made with the adoptive family. An adopted child cannot marry a person with whom he/she
could not marry before their adoption. Section 13 of this act throws light on the rights of the
adoptive parents. Under section 14, a wife will be the mother of the adopted child. If a male
is having more than one wife, then the senior most wife will be considered as the mother of
the adopted child and other wives will be considered as the stepmothers. A widower or a
bachelor, who adopts a child will be their father and in case he gets married to any woman,
then that woman will be considered as the child’s step-mother. If a child has been adopted
by a widow or a bachelorette, the man she marries, if she ever gets married will become the
stepfather of the child. Section 15, states that the parents cannot cancel a valid adoption
and the child has no right to cancel their adoption as they cannot return back to their
biological parents. According to section 17, no person has a right to receive money in
consideration of the adoption of any child.
Adoption is the best way to make the lives of the children brighter, as it is not only giving
satisfaction to the adoptive parents but also provides a better life style for the adopted children.