Adoption under Hindu law

Adoption once made is permanent and it cannot be cancelled neither by the adoptive parent nor by the adopted child. Section 15 of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act states that: No adoption which has been validly made can be cancelled by the adoptive father or mother or any other person, nor can the adopted child renounce his or her status as such and return to the family of his or her birth.

Both men and women can adopt a child under Hindu law. A Hindu major man can adopt a child whether he is a bachelor, married, divorcee or widower. For a married man, consent of his wife is essential; otherwise the adoption will be void. However, if a Hindu male adopts a female child, he should be older by at least 21 years to validate the adoption. A Hindu unmarried woman cannot adopt a child. However, a widow can adopt.

No person can make adoption unless he or she is a major and of sound mind.

Section 9(4) provides that giver cannot be taker. Thus, a person cannot adopt his own illegitimate child; a guardian cannot adopt his ward.

Restrictions on adoption

Section 11 lays down conditions for adoption. It provides that:

In every adoption, the following conditions must be complied with:

(i)        if the adoption is of a son, the adoptive father or mother by whom adoption is made must not have a Hindu son,  son's son or son's son's son  (whether by legitimate blood relationship or by  adoption) living at the time of adoption;

(ii)       if the adoption is of a daughter, the adoptive father or mother by whom the adoption is made must not have a Hindu daughter or son's daughter (whether by legitimate blood relationship or by adoption)living at the time of adoption;

(iii)       if the adoption is by a male and  the person to be adopted is a female, the adoptive father is at least twenty one years older than the person to be adopted;

(iv)      if the adoption is by a female and the person to be adopted is a male, the adoptive mother is at least twenty -one years older than the person to be adopted;

(v)       the same child may not be adopted simultaneously by two  or more person;

(vi)      the child to be adopted must be actually given and taken in adoption by the parents or guardian concerned or under their authority with intent to transfer the child from the family of its birth or in case of an abandoned child or child whose parentage is not known, from the place or family where it has been brought up to the family of its adoption:

PROVIDED that the performance of datta homam shall not be essential to the validity of adoption.

Adoption of a son: at the time of adoption, the adoptive parent should not have a son or a son’s son or a son’s son’s son whether legitimate or adopted living.

Adoption of a daughter: at the time of adoption, the adoptive parent should not have a daughter or a son’s daughter whether legitimate or adopted living.

Adoption by single parent: if a single parent wants to adopt a child of opposite sex, the age difference between the adoptive parent and the adopted child should be a minimum of 21 years.