Bombay High Court Says CWC Cannot Take Custody of Child Who Is Neither Orphan Nor Abandoned

The Bombay High Court has held that defects in an adoption process do not by themselves authorise a Child Welfare Committee to take custody of a child who does not fall within the statutory category of a child in need of care and protection.

Background

The biological parents had voluntarily given their third child to the petitioners. An adoption ceremony was performed and a notarised deed was executed. The Child Welfare Committee later removed the child from the petitioners and returned custody to the biological parents.

Legal issue and Court's reasoning

The Division Bench examined the adoption documents and interacted with the parties. It found that the deed had not been registered and that the procedure under the Central Adoption Resource Authority framework had not been followed. The purported adoption was therefore legally deficient.

That, however, did not resolve the separate jurisdictional question. Chapter V of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 gives the CWC powers over a 'child in need of care and protection'. The Court found that the child was neither orphaned nor abandoned and had not been shown to fall within the statutory definition.

Result and practical consequence

The CWC's May 25 order was quashed and the biological parents were directed to return custody to the petitioners.