Hyderabad: As per norms, couples must register themselves with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and other approved agencies if they want to adopt a child.
A social worker from the agency assesses the couple’s house, earning and financial status and counsels them.
Once a child is available for adoption, the couple is informed. The agency's lawyer prepares the documents after the parents express willingness to adopt the child they have chosen and submits them in court, which mandates the adopting couple to invest in the child's name. Subsequently, the court approves the adoption.
Hindu law provides a simpler process for intra-family adoptions. If a family is willing to give their baby to another family in adoption, the two parties can sign an agreement on mutually agreed terms and perform a small ritual, bypassing the need for a court’s involvement.
Traffickers are taking advantage of this simpler procedure, falsely assuring desperate couples that their process is legal. They charge exorbitant amounts, which sometimes goes up to ` `10 lakh. Many couples have fallen for this trap, unaware that they are participating in an illegal act.
Sai Kumar, who had ‘purchased’ a baby last July, said he did not know that it was illegal. “I signed a bond paper, which they brought. I assumed that it was official”, he said.
The authorities uncovered this in the recent bust, and are working towards tracking the people who operate this racket from New Delhi and Pune. Officials also clarified that if the police are unable to track the biological parents, the children will be legally put up for adoption.
