Bombay High Court Denies Plea by Pune Couple to Adopt American Child

Mumbai/Pune, 18th July 2025: The Bombay High Court has declined to intervene in a case where an Indian Muslim couple from Pune sought to adopt a six-year-old American child who is a relative. The court ruled that such an adoption is not permitted under the current legal framework unless the child is classified as being “in need of care and protection” or “in conflict with the law.”

The division bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Neela Gokhale delivered the order on Wednesday, rejecting the couple’s petition seeking direction to the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to approve their application.

“The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the Adoption Regulations do not permit adoption of a foreign national child unless specific criteria are met,” the court observed. “There exists no fundamental right enabling Indian citizens to adopt a child who does not fall within the statutory framework of the JJ Act, even if the child is biologically linked to Indian-origin parents.”

The case involves a couple who brought their relative’s minor son—born in California—to India in October 2019. With no personal biological children and in the absence of a codified personal adoption law under Muslim personal law, they approached a district court under Section 56(2) of the JJ Act, which permits adoption from relatives.

However, CARA, the nodal body overseeing adoptions within and outside India, denied them registration as prospective adoptive parents, citing regulatory limitations. Faced with this rejection, the couple moved the High Court, arguing that without formal adoption, the child’s continued stay in India could face legal hurdles.

Their counsel, Advocate Shirin Merchant, argued that the legal provision under Section 56(2) allows adoption of a child from a relative and that the child’s welfare should be the paramount concern. “This is not a case of inter-country adoption in the typical sense. The child is already residing with the family in India, and he shares a biological and emotional bond with them,” Merchant submitted.

However, the bench did not find the argument sufficient to override the statutory limitations. “The adoption framework in India does not extend to foreign nationals unless specific vulnerable conditions apply,” the court noted, adding that no constitutional rights of the child or the adoptive couple were being violated.