This is an archive article published on April 14, 2023
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Child rights panel opposes plea seeking changes in adoption law for gay couples
The petition that the commission has opposed is seeking declaration of unconstitutionality of Section 5(2) A and 5(3) of the Adoption Regulations, 2022.
Sources in the commission have, meanwhile, said that the NCPCR has submitted reports, including “international studies and articles’’ exhibiting that children “growing up in same-sex families have higher probability of suffering from mental and psychological issues, which could affect their growth and development”.
THE NATIONAL Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Thursday filed an intervention application in the Supreme Court in the matter of Amburi Roy vs Union of India, opposing adoption by gay couples. The child rights body has maintained that while deciding the fate of two adult individuals, the rights of children must be maintained.
The petition that the commission has opposed is seeking declaration of unconstitutionality of Section 5(2) A and 5(3) of the Adoption Regulations, 2022.
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Section 5 of adoption regulations deals with eligibility criteria for prospective adoptive parents, their physical, emotional, mental and financial capability as well as criminal records or records of abuse.
Section 5(2) A says a child can be adopted only if “there is consent of both the spouses for the adoption in case of a married couple”. The regulation goes on to say that a single woman can adopt a child of any gender, but “a single male shall not be eligible to adopt a girl child”.
Section 5(3) says that no child shall be given in adoption to a couple unless they have at least two years of stable marital relationship, except in the case of relatives or step-parent adoption.
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In its application the NCPCR has said, “This prayer has no relation to the issues in consideration in the present case, which relate only to recognition of same-sex marriages. As the sole question before the court is the scope of the term ‘marriage’, the prayer relating to the adoption regulations is totally extraneous to the subject matter of the case. The same ought therefore to be ignored by the Hon’ble Court.’’
“There are a number of cases related to same-sex marriage and we came to know that there have been petitions and discussions related to adoptions. When the court is deciding the fate of two adult individuals – we have nothing to say about that. Our mandate is the protection of child rights and the monitoring of the JJ Act. What we have said in the application is that the law as it currently exists needs to be upheld. Under the present law, a single man, or two men (a couple) cannot adopt a female child. In that matter, we decided to intervene in court as the rights of children cannot be dragged into this case or determined,’’said NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo when contacted by The Indian Express.
Sources in the commission have, meanwhile, said that the NCPCR has submitted reports, including “international studies and articles’’ exhibiting that children “growing up in same-sex families have higher probability of suffering from mental and psychological issues, which could affect their growth and development”.
Sources in the commission have, meanwhile, said that the NCPCR has submitted reports, including “international studies and articles’’ exhibiting that children “growing up in same-sex families have higher probability of suffering from mental and psychological issues, which could affect their growth and development”.
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