Today, On 9th July, The Supreme Court warned 30 states and Union Territories of contempt charges for not following its directives on child adoption. The bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, was addressing a petition aimed at simplifying the adoption process under the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).
New Delhi: The Supreme Court, issued warning to approximately 30 States and Union Territories (UTs) on Tuesday, threatening contempt of court proceedings for failing to adhere to the court’s previous directives. These directives mandated the establishment of Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) in every district by January 31, 2024.
The bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, addressing a petition seeking to simplify adoption procedures under the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).
CARA, a statutory body under the Ministry of Women & Child Development, serves as the central authority for the adoption of Indian children, overseeing and regulating both domestic and international adoptions.
The court highlighted that out of 760 districts nationwide, only 390 have operational SAAs, leaving 370 districts without such agencies.
Additionally, the Supreme Court noted that among the 34 States and UTs, only four states and one UT—Goa, Chandigarh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Rajasthan have fully complied with the court’s order to establish functional SAAs in every district.
The court highlighted that several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, lack the mandated number of functional Specialized Adoption Agencies (SAAs).
For instance, in Uttar Pradesh, 61 out of 75 districts do not have operational SAAs.
The court expressed concern about the alarming situation in other states as well.
In a November 2023 order, the Supreme Court granted all States and Union Territories (UTs) until January 31, 2024, to establish SAAs in every district.
However, the court noted that even after five months, several States and UTs failed to comply with the court’s directive.
The Supreme Court, recognizing the prima facie breach of its previous order, previously warned states of potential coercive measures for non-compliance,
“We are now compelled to take coercive steps against the state governments where SAAs have not been established. We direct that the chief secretaries of all the states/UTs listed in Annexure E shall file compliance affidavits on or before August 30. Failing this, they should be personally present in court to explain why they should not be prosecuted for contempt of court.”
The bench scheduled the matter for additional hearings in September.
The bench also observed that, despite the rise in adoption registrations, the necessary infrastructure for handling these adoptions requires improvement.