New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Tuesday took note of the failure to set up a Specialized Adoption Agency (SAA), aimed at expediting the process of adoption of abandoned and surrendered children, in 370 of the 760 districts of the country, and directed the Chief secretaries of 29 states and UTs must comply with the order or face contempt proceedings.
As per the apex court's orders, all 34 states and Union Territories had to compulsorily establish SAAs in each district by January 31, 2024, but only five complied.
It has now directed the chief secretaries of the rest of the states and UTs to submit a compliance report by August 30, failing which they will have to appear before this court on September 2 to explain why proceedings should not be initiated. for contempt against them. .The AAS prepares the home study report of the prospective adoptive parents and, once they are deemed eligible, refers them a child declared legally free for adoption along with the child study report and the medical report.
Having functional SAAs is a necessary legal requirement under the Youth Justice Act.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra regretted the non-creation of SAA in 370 districts by states and UTs after it was denounced by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, and decided to take “coercive measures.”Of the 34 states and Union territories, Chandigarh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Rajasthan have fully complied with the order, the legal official said.
Twenty-nine states and UTs have not complied with the court's directions, with Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand being the top defaulters.
Law enforcement officials said that in UP, 61 out of 75 districts, and in Uttarakhand, 10 out of 13 districts lacked functional SAAs. "We are forced to take coercive action against state governments and Union Territories (UTs), since despite repeated efforts and repeated opportunities, SAAs have not been created in all districts.
"Accordingly, we direct the Chief Secretaries of all States and UTs, as mentioned in the Annexure... to submit a compliance report on or before August 30, failing which they will remain personally present before this court on August 2. September to explain why they must do so will not proceed against the exercise of jurisdiction for contempt," the court ordered.
It also asked the states and UTs to submit affidavits explaining whether the deadlines provided in the adoption rules, 2022 are being duly complied with to facilitate the adoption process. The court asked them to also disclose data on the actual time required to complete the adoption process.
"The same (sworn statements) must also indicate the reasons why the deadlines established in the regulations are not being met," he said.
At the outset, the legal officer informed the court that in 2023-24, more than 4,000 children have been adopted and 13,000 registrations have been made by potential persons seeking to adopt children. The legal officer, however, raised the issue that the SAAs they do not operate in the districts as a detriment to the successful completion of the adoption process.
The court, during the hearing, said that the court was facing difficulties in laying down guidelines for adoptions and their registrations under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA).
"Once the statute is very clear about the conditions, it may not be appropriate for the court to prescribe guidelines now..." the court said. The matter will now be taken up on September 2. Earlier too, the court had expressed displeasure over the failure to set up SAA in 370 districts across the country and warned states and union territories against "coercive measures" in case of non-compliance with their instructions.
The court had also expressed its dissatisfaction with the “stark story” told by the country's annual adoption figures.
“Between 2013 and 2023, the annual number of total adoptions, both domestic and international, ranges between 3,158 at the lower end of the spectrum (2022-2023) and 4,362 (2014-2015)…” it had said. Previously, the court had observed the "mismatch" between the number of children legally available for adoption and registered potential adoptive parents.
It had directed all states and UTs to carry out a campaign every two months to identify children in the abandoned and surrendered (OAS) category in child care institutions. He had said that the first such exercises should be carried out before December 7.
The court had also directed all states and UTs to compile and submit to the Director of CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority) data on adoptions under HAMA by January 31, 2024. The apex court was hearing a PIL from "The Temple of Healing" that sought to simplify the legal process for adopting children in India, saying that only 4,000 adoptions take place annually in the country.
As per the apex court's orders, all 34 states and Union Territories had to compulsorily establish SAAs in each district by January 31, 2024, but only five complied.
It has now directed the chief secretaries of the rest of the states and UTs to submit a compliance report by August 30, failing which they will have to appear before this court on September 2 to explain why proceedings should not be initiated. for contempt against them. .The AAS prepares the home study report of the prospective adoptive parents and, once they are deemed eligible, refers them a child declared legally free for adoption along with the child study report and the medical report.
Having functional SAAs is a necessary legal requirement under the Youth Justice Act.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra regretted the non-creation of SAA in 370 districts by states and UTs after it was denounced by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, and decided to take “coercive measures.”Of the 34 states and Union territories, Chandigarh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Rajasthan have fully complied with the order, the legal official said.
Twenty-nine states and UTs have not complied with the court's directions, with Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand being the top defaulters.
Law enforcement officials said that in UP, 61 out of 75 districts, and in Uttarakhand, 10 out of 13 districts lacked functional SAAs. "We are forced to take coercive action against state governments and Union Territories (UTs), since despite repeated efforts and repeated opportunities, SAAs have not been created in all districts.
"Accordingly, we direct the Chief Secretaries of all States and UTs, as mentioned in the Annexure... to submit a compliance report on or before August 30, failing which they will remain personally present before this court on August 2. September to explain why they must do so will not proceed against the exercise of jurisdiction for contempt," the court ordered.
It also asked the states and UTs to submit affidavits explaining whether the deadlines provided in the adoption rules, 2022 are being duly complied with to facilitate the adoption process. The court asked them to also disclose data on the actual time required to complete the adoption process.
"The same (sworn statements) must also indicate the reasons why the deadlines established in the regulations are not being met," he said.
At the outset, the legal officer informed the court that in 2023-24, more than 4,000 children have been adopted and 13,000 registrations have been made by potential persons seeking to adopt children. The legal officer, however, raised the issue that the SAAs they do not operate in the districts as a detriment to the successful completion of the adoption process.
The court, during the hearing, said that the court was facing difficulties in laying down guidelines for adoptions and their registrations under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA).
"Once the statute is very clear about the conditions, it may not be appropriate for the court to prescribe guidelines now..." the court said. The matter will now be taken up on September 2. Earlier too, the court had expressed displeasure over the failure to set up SAA in 370 districts across the country and warned states and union territories against "coercive measures" in case of non-compliance with their instructions.
The court had also expressed its dissatisfaction with the “stark story” told by the country's annual adoption figures.
“Between 2013 and 2023, the annual number of total adoptions, both domestic and international, ranges between 3,158 at the lower end of the spectrum (2022-2023) and 4,362 (2014-2015)…” it had said. Previously, the court had observed the "mismatch" between the number of children legally available for adoption and registered potential adoptive parents.
It had directed all states and UTs to carry out a campaign every two months to identify children in the abandoned and surrendered (OAS) category in child care institutions. He had said that the first such exercises should be carried out before December 7.
The court had also directed all states and UTs to compile and submit to the Director of CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority) data on adoptions under HAMA by January 31, 2024. The apex court was hearing a PIL from "The Temple of Healing" that sought to simplify the legal process for adopting children in India, saying that only 4,000 adoptions take place annually in the country.
