District Magistrates can now decide adoption pleas, rules HC

The Bombay High Court upheld a 2021 amendment allowing District Magistrates to handle adoption pleas, enabling their implementation across Maharashtra.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday upheld the constitutional validity of the 2021 amendment to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which empowers District Magistrates (DMs) to adjudicate adoption pleas in place of civil courts.

District Magistrates can now decide adoption pleas, rules HC

A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande vacated the stay on the amendment’s implementation, previously in force since November 1, 2023, thereby enabling DMs across Maharashtra to process and decide adoption applications. The amendment had come into effect on September 1, 2022, replacing the word “court” with “district magistrate” in relevant provisions of the Act.

The court was hearing two petitions, including one filed by a Kandivali resident through advocate Vishal Kanade, which challenged the shift of powers from the judiciary to the executive. The plea argued that adoption proceedings had historically been overseen by courts to ensure due process, especially after adoption was formally defined in the law through a 2006 amendment. It also cited the role of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), set up following Supreme Court guidelines, to streamline and safeguard adoption procedures.

Opposing the plea, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh argued that the challenge was based on “mere apprehension” without substantive grounds. The bench agreed, terming the concerns “completely unfounded”.

The court noted that District Magistrates already discharge several quasi-judicial functions under multiple laws, including the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, and the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007.

“We have no doubt that the District Magistrate is well suited to act and assist in the welfare of children,” the bench observed, rejecting the petitioners’ assumption that DMs would lack the sensitivity required in adoption matters.

Emphasising that the adoption process is comprehensively guided by statutory provisions, the court said there was “no difficulty” in DMs determining the eligibility of prospective adoptive parents. “We do not find any ground to believe that the District Magistrate will not be in a position to exercise its role in an effective manner,” the judges added.

With the ruling, the High Court has cleared the way for full implementation of the 2021 amendment, formally vesting District Magistrates with the authority to decide adoption pleas across the state.