Pune: PIL filed against revised CARA guidelines

Under the new system, the entire child adoption process has been made online.

Protesting against the “virtual” adoption of a child, a 37-year-old adoptive parent from Pune and an unwed mother have filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court against the revised guidelines of Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

CARA had released new guidelines governing adoption of children effective from August 1 this year, replacing 2011 guidelines for greater transparency and clarity, to simplify adoption procedure, minimise delays and expand the adoption base by setting up linkages and introduce e-governance in the system.

Under the new system, prospective adoptive parents have to register online on CARINGS (Central Adoption Resource Information Guidance System), select the preferred adoption agency, upload documents within 30 days of registration and reserve one child from among six pictures displayed on the online portal. If they fail to do so, their number goes down in the list of prospective parents.

Shireen Merchant, advocate for the petitioners, said their objection was against how the online selection procedure allowing for selecting a child merely on the basis of his or her appearance. “A child may be rejected merely because his photograph is not appealing enough. To protect the fundamental right of life of a child, it is essential that nobody should have a right to reject a child merely on the basis of appearance. A parent-child relationship needs to develop by bonding and interaction, and not merely on face value and documents,” the PIL states.

“The PIL also challenges CARA’s revised guidelines on eliminating the concept of children with specials needs,” Merchant told The Indian Express.

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“The online adoption process also makes it mandatory that the details of the biological parents, unwed mother of the child, etc. are to be updated on the online database. This would involve the entire information going virtual, which violates the rights of privacy of the biological parents, especially of an unwed mother of the child,” Merchant says.

The guidelines also do not clarify whether gays, lesbians or transgenders can adopt a child, the PIL states.

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Also, as per new guidelines, a timeframe of 15 days is provided for the entire process of matching to be completed from the date of reserving the child. “How is it possible for the prospective adoptive parents to travel to such a location, get the child medically examined from a doctor of their choice and most importantly to develop a bond and be counselled within a period of 15 days?” the petitioners have stated.

Meanwhile, a workshop was held in Pune by the Federation of Adoption Agencies raising concerns over the revised CARA guidelines.

Across the country, there were a total of 3,988 in-country adoptions and 374 inter-country adoptions from April 2014 to March 2015.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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