Adoption
Also called: Dattak
The process by which a child is permanently separated from the biological parents and becomes the lawful child of the adoptive parents. Section 2(2), JJ Act; for Hindus, the HAMA, 1956.
Explained
Section 2(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 defines adoption as the process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from his biological parents and becomes the lawful child of his adoptive parents with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities attached to a biological child. Hindus, including Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs, may adopt under Chapter II of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. Under Section 56 of the JJ Act, orphan, abandoned and surrendered children are adopted under that Act and the adoption regulations, relative adoptions may be made irrespective of religion, and inter-country adoptions must follow the JJ Act; Section 56(3) saves adoptions under the HAMA.
Under Section 6 of the HAMA a valid adoption needs: capacity and right in the person adopting, capacity in the person giving, a person capable of being adopted, and compliance with the other conditions. A male Hindu of sound mind who is not a minor may adopt, but needs the consent of his wife unless she has finally renounced the world, ceased to be a Hindu or been declared of unsound mind (Section 7). A female Hindu has a corresponding capacity, needing her husband's consent on the same footing (Section 8). Only the father, mother or guardian may give a child in adoption (Section 9). The child must be a Hindu, not already adopted, unmarried and under fifteen, unless custom permits otherwise (Section 10).
Section 11 adds conditions: no living Hindu son, son's son or son's son's son when adopting a son, and no living Hindu daughter or son's daughter when adopting a daughter; an age gap of at least twenty-one years in cross-gender adoptions; and actual giving and taking with intent to transfer the child. Breach makes the adoption void (Section 5).
Under Section 12 the child is deemed the child of the adoptive parents from the date of adoption, and ties with the birth family are replaced, except that the child cannot marry within the prohibited relations of the birth family, keeps property already vested, and cannot divest anyone of an estate already vested. A registered adoption deed raises a presumption of validity (Section 16). Examiners test spousal consent, the age of fifteen and the twenty-one year gap.
What the law says
(2) “adoption” means the process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from his biological parents and becomes the lawful child of his adoptive parents with all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that are attached to a biological child;
Section 2(2) defines adoption
(1) Adoption shall be resorted to for ensuring right to family for the orphan, abandoned and surrendered children, as per the provisions of this Act, the rules made thereunder and the adoption regulations framed by the Authority.
(2) Adoption of a child from a relative by another relative, irrespective of their religion, can be made as per the provisions of this Act and the adoption regulations framed by the Authority.
(3) Nothing in this Act shall apply to the adoption of children made under the provisions of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (78 of 1956).
Adoption under the JJ Act; HAMA adoptions saved
No adoption shall be valid unless—
(i) the person adopting has the capacity, and also the right, to take in adoption;
(ii) the person giving in adoption has the capacity to do so;
Requisites of a valid adoption
Any male Hindu who is of sound mind and is not a minor has the capacity to take son or a daughter in adoption:
Provided that, if he has a wife living, he shall not adopt except with the consent of his wife unless the wife has completely and finally renounced the word or has ceased to be a Hindu or has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind.
Explanation.―If a person has more than one wife living at the time of adoption, the consent of all the wives is necessary unless the consent of any one of them is unnecessary for any of the reasons specified in the preceding proviso.
Capacity of a male Hindu; wife's consent
In every adoption, the following conditions must be complied with:―
(i) if the adoption is of a son, the adoptive father or mother by whom the adoption is made must not have a Hindu son son’s son or son’s son’s son (whether by legitimate blood relationship or by adoption) living at the time of adoption;
(ii) if the adoption is of a daughter, the adoptive father or mother by whom the adoption is made must not have a Hindu daughter or son’s daughter (whether by legitimate blood relationship or by adoption) living at the time of adoption;
Other conditions, including age gap and giving and taking
An adopted child shall be deemed to be the child of his or her adoptive father or mother for all purposes with effect from the date of the adoption and from such date all the ties of the child in the family of his or her birth shall be deemed to be severed and replaced by those created by the adoption in the adoptive family:
Provided that―
(a) the child cannot marry any person whom he or she could not have married if he or she had continued in the family of his or her birth;
Effects of adoption
Example
For example, H, a married Hindu male, adopts a son without his wife's consent though she is a Hindu of sound mind who has not renounced the world. The adoption is void under Sections 5 and 7 of the HAMA.
For the exam
- JJ Act definition: Section 2(2); HAMA governs Hindu adoptions (Sections 5 to 17).
- Wife's consent needed for a married male Hindu to adopt unless she renounced the world, converted or is of unsound mind (Section 7).
- Child must be Hindu, not adopted, unmarried and under fifteen unless custom permits (Section 10).
- Cross-gender adoption needs an age gap of at least twenty-one years (Section 11).
- Registered adoption deed raises a rebuttable presumption of a valid adoption (Section 16).
253 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this term. Practise Hindu Law questions
Related terms
- MinorA person who has not attained majority, which in India is ordinarily the completion of eighteen years. A minor cannot contract, and his agreement is void.
- GuardianA person having the care of the person of a minor, or of his property, or of both. Defined in Section 4(b) of the HMGA and Section 4(2) of the Guardians and Wards Act.
- Natural guardianUnder Section 4(c) of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, any of the guardians named in Section 6: the father, then the mother; the mother for illegitimate children; the husband for a married girl.
- HeirUnder Section 3(1)(f) of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, any person, male or female, entitled to succeed to the property of an intestate under the Act.
- Abandoned childA child deserted by his biological or adoptive parents or guardians who has been declared abandoned by the Child Welfare Committee after due inquiry (Section 2(1) of the JJ Act, 2015).
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.