BSA Important Notes

Necessary conditions to be fulfilled for:
The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act prescribes a set of rules for a valid adoption, which must
be complied with. Such as:
Adoption of a son
Section 11(i) of the act states that if a Hindu male or female desires to adopt a son, they must not
have a living son, grandson, or even a great-grandson at the time of adoption.
It is irrelevant whether the son is legitimate, illegitimate, or adoptive. They should not already have a
son who is living.
Adoption of a daughter
Similar to the conditions of adopting a son Section 11(ii) states that one wishing to adopt a daughter
must not have a living daughter or a granddaughter from their son at the time of the adoption.
It is immaterial whether the daughter or granddaughter is legitimate, illegitimate, or adoptive.
Adoption of a female child by a male
A Hindu male willing to adopt a girl child must have the capacity to adopt a child as prescribed in
Section 7 of the act, and Section 11 (iii) states that he must be at least 21 years older than the girl
child that is to be adopted.
Adoption of a male child by a female
If a Hindu female wants to adopt a male child she must first meet the requirements prescribed in
Section 8 of the act and have the capacity to adopt a child.
Also, she has to be at least 21 years older than the child she wishes to adopt.
Other conditions
When adopting a child a person must comply with some additional conditions along with all the
aforementioned conditions.
These additional conditions are basic and are very important for the welfare of the child.
• Section 11(v) of the act says that the same child can not be adopted by multiple people at the same
time.
• Section 11(vi) states that a child that one wants to adopt must have been given up for adoption as
per the guidelines of this act, by their biological parents or guardian.
• The Section further states that the child shall be given up for adoption with the intention to
transfer him/her from their biological family to the adoptive one.
• In the case of an abandoned child or whose parents are unknown, the intention must be to transfer
him/her from the place or family that they have been brought up to their adoptive family.
Effects of adoption
Adoption will completely change the life of a child in many ways. He becomes a part of a new family
and will have rights in the property as well.
Section 12 of the act states:
• When a child has been adopted,
They shall be considered as the child of their adoptive parents for all purposes.
The adoptive parents shall have all the parental obligations and rights.
The child shall have all the rights and obligations of a son/daughter.
However, there are some conditions that the child must abide by after he has been adopted, such as:
• He/she must not have an incestuous relationship with anyone from their biological family, and
should not marry anyone from their birth family. The rules of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 regarding
'sapinda relation' shall be applicable to them towards their birth family.
• If the child had any property before the adoption, it shall continue to be in their possession after.
However, such property may bring some obligations over him and he shall be liable to all those
obligations, including having to maintain his biological family if required.
• The adopted child shall not deprive any member of his birth family of any property that he held
before the adoption.
It is important for the adoption to be valid to
have any effect at all. In Sri Chandra Nath Sadhu

& ors v. The State of West Bengal & ors, the High
Court of Calcutta stated that a void adoption
will not create any rights in the adoptive family
for anyone that could have been obtained from
a valid adoption, nor any existing rights will end
in the child's biological family
τηατ ne neid berore the adoption.
Rights of adoptive parents to dispose property of their
If adoptive parents wish to dispose of their properties by transfer by gift or will, they are free to do so
and adoption does not stop them. Unless there is an existing agreement that states the contrary.
Who will be the adoptive mother in case of adoption by a male?
We have already discussed that a Hindu male who has a living wife must have her consent for
adopting a child.
• Section 14(1) of the act states that in such cases the wife shall be deemed to be the mother of the
adopted child.
• If a male who adopted the child has multiple wives, the senior-most wife shall be considered to be
the mother of the adopted child while his other wives shall have the status of stepmothers as stated
in Section 14(2) of the act.
• Section 14(3) of the act states that if a child has been adopted by a bachelor or a widower, the
woman he marries if he ever gets married will become the stepmother of the child.

BSA Important Notes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

BSA Important Notes

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

BSA Important Notes

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Necessary conditions to be fulfilled for:

It is immaterial whether the daughter or granddaughter is legitimate, illegitimate, or adoptive.

Adoption of a female child by a male

Adoption of a male child by a female

Section 12 of the act states:

• When a child has been adopted,

It is important for the adoption to be valid to

have any effect at all. In Sri Chandra Nath Sadhu

Court of Calcutta stated that a void adoption

will not create any rights in the adoptive family

for anyone that could have been obtained from

a valid adoption, nor any existing rights will end

in the child's biological family

τηατ ne neid berore the adoption.

Rights of adoptive parents to dispose property of their

Who will be the adoptive mother in case of adoption by a male?

You might also like