DC Impact: District registrar told to explain sale' of child

Kozhikode: The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has directed the district registrar to explain on what grounds the adoption of a girl child was made in 2014 through a sub-registrar instead of a court of law. It may be recalled that Deccan Chronicle had exposed the suspected case of child sale in a report titled ‘Children ‘sold’ in the guise of adoption’ on August 25 last year.  

Commission acting chairman P. Mohan Das said that  the city police commissioner would be directed to investigate the case, if needed.

The documents regarding the sale of the girl, now aged 8, which are in the possession of this newspaper, prove that a sale deed had taken place instead of adoption. Moreover,  the adopted parent has been named ‘buyer.’   The birth certificate has one set of parents and the school leaving certificate has another, revealing the  efforts to manipulate the documents  to make the illegal adoption legal.

News which appeared in DC on August 25, 2016.

The girl is currently at a government-approved orphanage in Kozhikode.  She faced a series of troubles when her foster parents quarrelled and the father filed a complaint with the police over the illegal custody of the child. The complaint was filed when the foster mother alleged that her husband had  tried to molest the child.

After the child was taken to the orphanage under the directions of the Kozhikode Child Welfare Committee, her ‘biological mother’ claimed the child and took her along and surrendered before the Wayanad CWC. However, CWC chairperson  Sreela Menon said that they were cheated when the mother claimed the child and that they did not expect it was to surrender the kid.

The case took a new turn  when the foster mother approached the High Court to stop the authorities from procedures to give the girl in adoption to any  person other than the petitioner. However, on April 11, the HC granted visitation rights for the foster mother at the orphanage.