Illegal Adoption in India

Illegal Adoption in India

Subject : Social Issue

Context : The Supreme Court agreed to intervene after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sounded the alarm on a spate of complaints about illegal adoption of COVID orphans through private individuals and organisations.

Concept :

• Social media posts are circulating that children are up for adoption. This is plainly illegal and violates the Juvenile Justice Act.
• The adoption of orphaned/abandoned/ surrendered children is lawful only after the adoption procedure as given under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 is followed and the final adoption order is passed by the prescribed authority.
• Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice Act prohibits the disclosure of identity of children with regard to the name, school, age, address or any information which would reveal the essential details of the child.
• Placing any confidential information about children in the public domain which would make them susceptible to trafficking,
• NCPCR statistics shows that 3,621 children were orphaned, 26,176 children lost either parent and 274 children were abandoned between April 1, 2021 to June 5, 2021.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

• NCPCR is a statutory body set up in March 2007 under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.
• It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Women & Child Development.
• The Commission’s mandate is to ensure that all laws, policies, programmes, and administrative mechanisms are in consonance with the child rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• It inquires into complaints relating to a child’s right to free and compulsory education under the Right to Education Act, 2009.
• It monitors the implementation of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.