By Astha Bhumish Shah 

The Supreme Court on 16 July issued notice in a petition seeking the inter-country adoption of two children by a 49-year-old single Indian woman who resides in the United Kingdom. The petitioner, an Overseas Citizen of India, wanted to take her adopted children to the UK along with her. She is aggrieved by the procedural challenges coming in her way for seeking a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to complete the inter-country adoption. The petitioner adopted her brother’s twin children (born out of surrogacy) under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956 (HAMA) through an adoption ceremony with the consent of the parties. The petitioner has challenged the Madras High Court order, which held that CARA can proceed to issue an NOC only after there is a legal recognition of the adoption by the UK Authorities in compliance with the International Conventions signed by both the countries. The petitioner in the High Court had sought a direction to CARA for issuing NOC as per the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption,1993 (Hague Adoption Convention). The convention is ratified by both India and the UK. It is the case of the petitioner that the High Court has wrongly proceeded on the application of Regulation 68 which applies to adoptions done after 17 September 2021. In the present case, the adoption was done on January 9, 2020. While issuing a notice and seeking response from CARA, the Court also raised concerns over the need for foreign recognition of the adoption for the overall benefit of the child. It was pointed out that without a sponsorship letter from the UK Authorities, the child once taken abroad may not be able to get the benefit of the UK’s welfare schemes on children’s health and social security. The matter will now be heard on July 26. (Special Leave to Appeal (C) No(s).14886/2024) 

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