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Journalism of Courage
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) to consider as a one-time measure the plea of a German couple for adoption of twins born through a surrogate Indian mother.
A Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and Asok Kumar Ganguly granted four weeks to the agency to explore the possibility of helping John Balaz and his wife on humanitarian grounds. The apex court passed the direction after the couple told the Bench that they were willing to go for an inter-country adoption as surrogacy is a punishable offence in their country.
On February 25,the court had asked the Women and Child Welfare Ministry agency to consider grant of adoption rights as a special case to the German couple. The court had passed the direction after the government counsel submitted that under existing rules,the German couple cannot be granted adoption rights as such a privilege is available only if the children are abandoned by their biological parents.
The Centre had earlier rejected the couples plea for grant of citizenship to the children on the ground that the statute does not provide citizenship rights to children born of a surrogate mother.
