Why does India prevent single men from adopting a girl child? Isn't it discriminatory?
In JJ Act, sub-section 3 of 41 states this: In keeping with the provisions of the various guidelines for adoption issued from time to time, by the State Government, or Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), and notified by the Central Government, children may be may be given in adoption by a court after satisfying itself regarding the investigations having been carried out as are required for giving such children in adoption.
What the above section is stating is this: If the state government or CARA makes a rule, that's the rule to go by.
CARA has a made rules in "1.1.10 Safeguards". The 10th point "j" states the following: "Placement of girls with a single male is not allowed as also placement of children with same sex couples." (Click here to open the link). JJ Act is saying that if CARA makes a rule, that's the rule to go by as far as adoptions are concerned.
Now if you ask why did CARA make such a rule? The answer lies in an empirical study that the Ministry of Women & Child Development (parent body of CARA) did and released in 2007 titled "Child Abuse" (Click here to read the study) reported more than 60% of Indian children below the age of 14 are subjected to abuse of some kind or the other and 25% are subjected to sexual abuse by their own family members.
I personally don't think that this rule can stand the test of legal scrutiny in the court of law but till such a time arrives, it is the rule of CARA to go by.
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