AS many lost their loved ones during Covid, some choose to honour their memories by bringing home a child in need of healing too. After the second wave, India struggled to get back on its feet and there were lives which were never the same. These were the innocents who lost their anchors, their very support systems—their parents. Labelled “Covid orphans”, they are estimated to be 10,000 in India, a modest estimate. We have been reading with growing concern reports about how children are being “auctioned” on social media. Upon delving into the law of adoption, however, it is clear that there are adequate checks and balances in place.
What can one do if we find it in our hearts to adopt a Covid orphan? What does the law permit? How old must we be/how old must we not be/do we need to be married (if so how long for), can we be a minority? All this and more are the questions one must consider if taking this all-important and truly altruistic step.
There are two routes via which one can be legally responsible for a child that is not one’s biological child: Guardianship or adoption.
Would one be able to adopt one’s deceased neighbour’s child right away? Fortunately not. The first rule is that in these cases, the blood relatives get priority. On receipt of an abandoned child, the District Child Protection Unit puts up an alert with the child’s photograph and details in state-wide newspapers and requests the local police to try to trace the parents, and on the completion of such inquiry it shall declare the child legally free for adoption.
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