S.6 of the hindu adoption act is the summarizes all the section between and including S.7 – S.

16

Requisites of a valid adoption.―No adoption shall be valid unless—

(i) the person adopting has the capacity, and also the right, to take in adoption;

Adoptee: People/person who adopts a child/children

a. Capacity to adopt (S. 7 -8 of HAMA )

i. Any male who is not a minor nor of unsound mind

(with consent of his wife/wives, unless she is declared unsound mind by

court, or she ceased to be a Hindu or renounced the world)

Sarabjeet kabir v. Gurumal Kaur, AIR 2009 NOC 889 (P & H)

Adoption without the consent of his wife is illegal.

ii. Any Female who is not minor nor of unsound mind

(with consent of Husband, unless he is declared to be of unsound mind by

the court, ceased to be a Hindu or renounced the world) [Brought by The
Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2010]

Prior to the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act 2010, a Hindu female adult of
sound mind could adopt a child only under the following situations, if she is:

(i) unmarried;

(ii) divorced;

(iii) widowed; or

(iv) her husband suffers from certain disabilities,

(a) ceased to be a Hindu;

(b) has renounced the world; or

(c) has been declared to be of unsound mind by a court.

b. Right to adopt (established by this act)

Not a fundamental right under Shabnam Hashmi v. Union of India

No hindu male or female can adopt a son if they have a son, son’s son or son’s son’s
son. Similarly, they cannot adopt a daughter if they have a daughter, son’s daughter.
(legitimate or illegitimate)

(ii) the person giving in adoption has the capacity to do so;

s.9 People who have capacity to give a child in adoption

a. father

b. mother

c. guardian
 if both mother and father are alive – they will have equal right to give the child in
adoption. [The Personal Laws Amendment Act, 2010]

Before the amendment

a. only husband had the right to give the child in adoption, with the consent of his
wife.

b. Wife was given the right to give a child in adoption only when, her husband:

i. was dead;

ii. Has renounced the world;

iii. Ceased to be a hindu

iv. Unsound mind by a court

c. Guardian, the third in line after mother, had the right to give a child in adoption,
when:

i. Has renounced the world

ii. Declared of unsound mind by a competent court

iii. Parents are dead

iv.

(iii) the person adopted is capable of being taken in adoption; and

(iv) the adoption is made in compliance with the other conditions mentioned in this Chapter.