4 days ago
Calcutta High Court Returns Child to Adoptive Parents
The Calcutta High Court considered a case about a three-year-old boy and the people caring for him.
His biological parents gave him to the adoptive parents shortly after he was born.
The adoptive parents looked after him as their own child.
They had signed a notarised adoption deed, but they had not completed all the legal adoption steps.
When they approached officials for a birth certificate, the Child Welfare Committee took the boy into custody.
The court said the boy was not an orphan or abandoned child.
It also said the committee should not have taken him because there was no claim that he was being harmed or neglected.
The court ordered the committee to return him to the adoptive parents.
Officials will receive regular reports about his welfare beginning in December 2026.
The Calcutta High Court ordered the Child Welfare Committee to return a three-year-old boy to his adoptive parents.
The court said the child was neither orphaned nor abandoned because he had been cared for by the petitioners since shortly after birth.
The biological parents handed over the prematurely born child to the petitioners after his hospital discharge on March 21, 2023.
The adoptive parents later signed a notarised adoption deed but did not complete the statutory adoption process.
The court ordered welfare reports on the child from the adoptive parents every quarter starting in December 2026.
- Who
- The Calcutta High Court, the adoptive parents, the biological parents, and the Child Welfare Committee were involved.
- What
- The court ordered the Child Welfare Committee to return a three-year-old child to the adoptive parents while noting that the adoption had not followed the statutory procedure.
- Where
- The case was heard by the Calcutta High Court, and the welfare reports are to be sought through the District Legal Services Committee, South 24 Parganas, Kolkata, West Bengal.
- When
- The order was issued on September 17, with handover directed by September 18 at 4 p.m.; welfare reporting is to begin in December 2026.
- Why
- The court found that the child was neither orphaned nor abandoned and did not fall within the category of children in need of care and protection, although it acknowledged that the adoption procedure was irregular.
Adoptive Parents' Position
State's Position
Whether the child should remain in CWC custody
Adoptive Parents' Position
The adoptive parents argued that the child had been in their care since shortly after birth, that there were no allegations of abuse or neglect, and that removing him from his established caregiving environment was unnecessary.
State's Position
The state argued that the adoption had to comply strictly with the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and adoption regulations, requiring processing through a recognised specialised adoption agency.
Legal effect of the private adoption
Adoptive Parents' Position
The adoptive parents said they approached the CWC to complete formalities and obtain a birth certificate so the child could receive proper education.
State's Position
The state argued that a private arrangement or notarised adoption deed made outside the statutory framework had no legal recognition.
CWC authority in this case
Adoptive Parents' Position
The adoptive parents argued that procedural irregularities did not establish that the child was unsafe or required removal.
State's Position
The court acknowledged the procedural irregularity but held that the CWC lacked authority to take custody because the child was neither orphaned nor abandoned and was not a child in need of care and protection.
Key facts
- Child's age
- Three years old
- Birth date
- February 24, 2023
- Hospital discharge
- March 21, 2023
- Custody by CWC
- The Child Welfare Committee took custody on February 18, 2026
- Adoption document
- A notarised deed was signed on April 3, 2023, but the statutory procedure was not completed
- Court direction
- The Child Welfare Committee was ordered to return the child by September 18 at 4 p.m.
- Welfare monitoring
- Quarterly reports are to be sought from December 2026 onward
Quotes
Justice Krishna Rao
Calcutta High Court judge hearing the adoptive parents’ plea
“There is no dispute that biological parents have given the child in adoption to the present petitioners without following the proper procedure. Admittedly, the child is neither ‘orphan’ nor ‘abandoned’.”
indianexpress.com
“for the ends of justice, it would be appropriate to direct the Child Welfare Committee to return the child to the petitioners”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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