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Hindu Adoption in India – Laws for adopting a child into Hindu family

Hindu couples adopting a child in India have to follow the Hindu Adoption Act (HAA) of 1958. The Act is applicable to all Hindu sects, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. This Act does not wholly recognize the adoptions by Muslims, Christians, Muslims, Parsis and Jews. The personal law boards of Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Judaism primarily takes care of the adoption in these communities. The Juvenile Justice Act (JJA) of 2004 looks into adoption irrespective of religion.

Some of the main points in the Hindu Adoption Act (HAA) of 1958
Any male Hindu who is of sound mind and is not a minor has the capacity to take a son or a daughter in adoption. Provided that, if he has a wife living, he shall not adopt except with the consent of his wife unless the wife has completely and finally renounced the world or has ceased to be a Hindu or has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind.
Any female Hindu who is sound mind, who is not a minor, and who is not married, or if married, whose marriage has been dissolved or whose husband is dead or has completely and finally renounced the world or has ceased to be a Hindu or has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind.
No person except the father or mother or the guardian of a child shall have the capacity to give the child in adoption.
An adopted child shall be deemed to be the child of has or her adoptive father or mother for all purposes with effect from the date of the adoption and from such date all the ties of the child in the family of his or her birth shall be deemed to be served replaced by those created by the adoption in the adoptive family.
Then there is the key issue of inheritance. The HAA also limits the number of adoptions in a family to one child per gender.

The Juvenile Justice Act (JJA) addresses several points that were previously not addressed by the Hindu Adoption Act (HAA) of 1958. This includes Adoption by Single Parents and relaxation in the one child per gender policy. It must be noted that the Juvenile Justice Act (JJA) does not supersede the HAA and the personal law boards.

Both the Juvenile Justice Act (JJA) and the Hindu Adoption Act (HAA) of 1958 have enough loopholes.

Luckily Hindu couples do not have to face the many hassles faced by the minority communities. But still there are several pitfalls. So before adopting the couples should first study both the acts and should talk with people who have adopted children. Also should seek the counsel of a lawyer experienced in the relevant area of law.