SC asks Govt to consider German couple plea for adoption of surrogate kids

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Central Adoption Resources Agency (CARA) of Union Women and Child Welfare Ministry to consider grant of adoption rights as a 'special case' to the German couple for their twin kids born through a surrogate Indian mother.

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Central Adoption Resources Agency (CARA) of Union Women and Child Welfare Ministry to consider grant of adoption rights as a 'special case' to the German couple for their twin kids born through a surrogate Indian mother.

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The apex court passed the direction after the counsel for the union government told the bench that under the existing rules, German couple Jan Balaz and Susane L'o'hle cannot be granted adoption rights of the child as such a privilege is available only if the children are abandoned by the biological parents.

In the present case, the government said the children were born through a surrogate mother and there was no provision under the law for inter-country adoption for children. It however, offered to examine the plea for adoption of the German couple as a special case provided it was not treated as a precedent.

A bench of Justices Asok Kumar Ganguly and R M Lodha while passing the direction posted the matter for further hearing to March 16.

The Centre had earlier rejected the couple's plea for grant of citizenship to the children on the ground that the statute does not provide citizenship rights to kids born of a surrogate woman.