Calcutta High Court gives couple in their 50s second chance at parenthood

“The petitioners are given liberty to immediately revalidate their HSR and immediately after revalidation, the respondents are directed to give the first preference of available child with the Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA) to the petitioners by treating serial no. 1 in seniority, if the child is fit for adoption and to take appropriate steps to complete adoption process if the petitioners give their consent within 48 hours from referral,” the July 13 order noted.

On January 29, 2020, a couple registered on the official portal of the CARA. On December 22, 2025, they got a third referral for a 5-year-old girl child from a SAA. The couple was provided with the medical examination report of the child, which recorded that the child did not vocalise with the caregiver. 

Justice Krishna Rao restored a couple’s adoption seniority after they missed an opportunity to adopt due to the authority’s fault.

Child with special needs and missed adoption

The prescription dated August 29, 2025, issued by the Department of ENT, Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, recorded that the child is “unable to speak since birth” and recommended speech therapy.  Later, the audio vestibular clinic also recorded that the child has a speech problem and relies on gestures to express herself. 

Advocate Deepan Kumar Sarkar submitted that the girl fell within the category of a child with special needs, as a significant speech impairment has persisted since birth. The couple made a complaint to CARA by intimating them of the same, but the authority did not reply. On December 23, 2025, the couple again sent an email, keeping in view that the period of 48 hours for reserving the child is going to expire on December 25. 

Sarkar argued that after the couple got to know that the child had a speech impairment, they informed CARA and the State Adoption Resource Authority (SARA) and sought clarification along with a chief medical officer’s report (CMO) under the Adoption Regulations, 2022.

It was argued that due to the confusion over the child’s medical report, the couple could not consent within the 48 hours, and the authorities closed the grievance without allowing the couple to consent. He submitted that the decision would push the couple to the next referral cycle and they would lose eligibility to adopt under adoption rules.

Advocate Siddartha Lahiri submitted that the couple failed to consent within 48 hours of receiving the referral, and the child was offered to the next eligible prospective adoptive parents. He added that if the couple still wished to adopt, they could file a fresh application, and informed the court that the child concerned had been given to another couple for adoption.

Court restores couple’s seniority in adoption process

The court allowed the couple to revalidate their Home Study Report (HSR) and directed the authorities to treat them as first in seniority for the next available child with the adoption agency and to proceed with the process after the couple gives their consent within 48 hours.

The court allowed the couple to renew their HSR and directed the authorities to treat them as first in seniority for the next available eligible child with the adoption agency and proceed with the process after their consent within 48 hours of the referral. It set aside the decision wherein the couple’s grievance was treated as closed, and they were directed to wait for their next referral based on their active application status.