Mumbai: The proposed guidelines for the
welfare of children adopted by foreign parents contemplate
that the adoptive parents should spend some time with the
child in India, before he/she is taken abroad.
Bombay High Court is currently in the process of framing
these guidelines.
Additional solicitor general Darius Khambata read out
some of the draft guidelines during the hearing before Justice
D Y Chandrachud today.
Guidelines have been proposed by Central Adoption
Regulatory Authority. High Court initiated the process after a
case of a 14-year-old adopted child -- who was abandoned by
her foreign parents -- landed in the court.
Khambata said that guidelines contemplate that placement
agencies in India should be given a longer time to look for an
adoptive parent in India before sending a child in an
inter-country adoption.
Further, he said, in case of children with special needs,
the adoptive parents must spend at least two weeks with the
child in India prior to the adoption.
Advocate Pradeep Havnur, representing NGO Sakhee, said
there were instances of foreign parents abusing child after
going back to their country. Havnur urged the court to make
the foreign adoption agencies more accountable.
But Justice Chandrachud said this was difficult, because
the child will have become citizen of another country.
"I don`t see how we can exercise jurisdiction on a child
who has become a citizen of another country. There is precious
little we can do then," he said.
Court is expected to finalise guidelines at the hearing
next week.
PTI
