Published on Fairobserver.com
Adoptive parents and children face challenges in India as their rights to adopt and inherit vary with their religious status. The UCC would make adoption fairer and more effective for all.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making a push to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) mandated by Article 44 of India’s constitution. The UCC would be a single code of marriage and family law that would apply to all citizens equally regardless of their religion and local customs. While much of the focus of the debate has been on marriage law, adoption law, too, deserves serious attention.
Current drawbacks of adoption laws in India
Without the UCC, there are currently different adoption laws for different religious communities. There are a number of drawbacks, including:
— Lack of uniformity in the rights of adopted children. The rights of adopted children vary depending on the religious community. Under Hindu law, an adopted child is considered to be the natural child of the adoptive parents. Under Islamic law, an adopted child is not considered to be equivalent to a natural child of the adoptive parents.
— Discrimination. The different laws governing adoption can also lead to discrimination against certain groups of people, such as single people, same-sex couples and interfaith couples. This can make it more difficult for these groups of people to adopt a child.