E-Paper
‘Covid orphans’: Follow due adoption process
India has a well-established adoption process. The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), a statutory body of the WCD ministry, is the nodal agency for adoption. It regulates the adoption of orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated or recognised agencies.
As the second wave of Covid-19 engulfed India, several messages started circulating on social media platforms for the adoption of “Covid orphans”, children who have lost both parents to the dreaded disease. Such adoption posts are well-meaning, but they are also illegal, can be detrimental to the child’s well-being, and undermine existing safeguards.
Child rights activists have warned that such posts violate Section 80 and 81 of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, 2015, which prohibit offering or receiving children outside the processes laid down under the Act as well as their sale and purchase. Such acts are punishable with three to five years in jail or ₹1 lakh in fine. Last week, the ministry of women and child development (WCD) and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights too wrote to states on measures related to the rehabilitation of such children to ensure safety and prevent trafficking. The WCD ministry has also requested the ministry of health and family welfare that a column may be added to hospital admission forms seeking details of a trustworthy person to whom children can be handed over. This must be implemented without delay.
India has a well-established adoption process. The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), a statutory body of the WCD ministry, is the nodal agency for adoption. It regulates the adoption of orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated or recognised agencies. While the scale of the tragedy must be recognised, delays should be avoided, and processes improved, the adoption process itself must be preserved. Citizens must alert nodal agencies if a child needs help and protection. And the State must, sensitively, focus on vulnerable children, provide adequate support to overcome the trauma of losing parents, and balance the urgency of the moment with its existing framework to ensure children have a secure and safe future.
