Centralised govt agency should monitor adoptions: HC
Mumbai: Bombay High Court today said
adoptions should not be left "to the discretion" of private
agencies, instead there should be a centralised government
agency at the state level to monitor the process.
The division bench of Justices B H Marlapalle and A V
Mohta was hearing the petition filed by NGOs Sakhi and Adwait
Foundation regarding alleged malpractices at the Pune-based
adoption agency 'Preet Mandir'.
There were allegations that babies were being sold at
premium to foreign couples by Preet Mandir. CBI is probing the
matter.
Today, the division bench opined that there should be
"a centralised agency at the state level to receive
applications (from those who want to adopt a child), rather
than leaving it to the discretion of the adoption agencies".
The centralised agency should have a list of all the
children in the state who are available for adoption, judges
said.
Also, this agency can work out how much money private
adoption centres should receive for processing adoptions, the
court said.
The court directed the petitioners as well as the state
government to work out a plan in this regard within three
weeks.