- Bookmark
- Share
- CaseIQ
Laxmi Kant Pandey v. Union Of India And Others
Factual and Procedural Background
The Union of India filed Criminal Miscellaneous Petition No. 5969 of 1998 seeking modification and/or clarification of certain directions laid down by the Supreme Court on 6 February 1984 in regard to inter-country adoptions ((1984) 2 SCC 244). Specifically, the Union requested that the three-month period given to biological parents to reconsider relinquishment of their child be shortened. A separate application, Criminal Miscellaneous Petition No. 4744 of 1999, was submitted by Respondent 2 requesting revision of the scrutiny fee payable in adoption proceedings. Both applications were heard and decided in the present order.
Legal Issues Presented
- Whether the statutory three-month waiting period granted to biological parents to revoke consent for relinquishment should be reduced in the interest of expediting inter-country adoption procedures.
- Whether the scrutiny fee, last fixed in 1986, should be revised upward for both inter-country and in-country adoptions to reflect current administrative and legal costs.
Arguments of the Parties
Union of India (Applicant in Crl. MP No. 5969/1998)
- Empirical data show that biological parents generally decide within 10–15 days and that only about 3% reclaim the child during the existing three-month period.
- A shorter waiting period would reduce uncertainty for the child, who remains in institutional care until adoption is finalized.
- The best interests and welfare of the child—paramount in adoption matters—support reduction of the waiting time.
Respondent 2 (Applicant in Crl. MP No. 4744/1999)
- Sought an upward revision of the scrutiny fee, arguing that the rates fixed in 1986 (₹450 for inter-country and ₹150 for in-country adoptions) no longer cover current costs.
Table of Precedents Cited
| Precedent | Rule or Principle Cited For | Application by the Court |
|---|---|---|
| (1984) 2 SCC 244 Order dated 6-2-1984 |
Laid down comprehensive guidelines, including a three-month waiting period, governing inter-country adoptions. | The Court partially modified these earlier directions by reducing the waiting period from three months to two months. |
Court's Reasoning and Analysis
The Court accepted the Attorney General’s empirical submission that the existing three-month period exceeded what biological parents normally require to decide on relinquishment and that prolongation adversely affects the child’s welfare by keeping the child in institutional care unnecessarily. Considering “the best interest and welfare of the child” as the “supreme consideration,” the Court deemed it appropriate to reduce the period to two months.
Regarding the scrutiny fee, the Court acknowledged that the rates had remained unchanged since 1986. After hearing both Respondent 2 and the Attorney General, the Court found merit in revising the fees to better reflect actual administrative and legal expenses. Consequently, it increased the fee for inter-country adoptions to ₹2,500 per child and for in-country adoptions to ₹500 per child.
The Court declined to entertain any other prayers in the Union’s application and expressed confidence that District Courts and Juvenile Courts/Homes would handle adoption matters expeditiously.
Holding and Implications
HOLDING: The Supreme Court reduced the waiting period for biological parents to revoke relinquishment from three months to two months and revised the scrutiny fee to ₹2,500 per child for inter-country adoptions and ₹500 per child for in-country adoptions. All other requests were not pressed.
Implications: The decision accelerates the adoption timeline, potentially reducing institutional care time for children, and updates the cost structure to meet current administrative realities. Copies of the order are to be circulated to all High Courts and relevant institutions, but the ruling does not establish new substantive legal doctrine beyond modifying the 1984 guidelines.
Order
Crl MP No. 5969 of 1998
1. Through this application, the Union of India seeks modification and/or clarification of some of the directions given by this Court on 6-2-1984 (1984) 2 SCC 244 in regard to inter-country adoptions. The submission of the learned Attorney General for India is that the period of three months which has been permitted for the biological parents to take a decision to relinquish the child for giving in adoption, needs to be reduced because according to him, the experience has shown that only 10-15 days' period is generally taken by the parents to make up their mind and it is not more than three per cent of the relinquished children who have been taken back by the biological parents in the period already prescribed under directions of this Court. It is stated that if this period is reduced, it would accelerate the process of adoption and the period of uncertainty would be curtailed even insofar as the child is concerned, who, we are informed is kept in the institutional care during that period. Keeping in view the best interest and welfare of the child, which is of supreme consideration in matters of adoption, more particularly inter-country adoptions, we find force in the submission of the learned Attorney General. It, therefore, appears appropriate to us to reduce the period of three months for the biological parents to take the decision regarding relinquishment of the child for giving in adoption to a period of two months.
2. With the aforesaid reduction in the period, the earlier directions given by this Court shall stand modified to that extent.
3. So far as the other prayers mentioned in this application are concerned, the learned Attorney General does not press the same. We, however, have no doubts that the District Courts and the Juvenile Courts/Homes would give their earnest attention to the matters and dispose them of expeditiously.
Crl MP No. 4744 of 1999
4. Vide order dated 30-11-1998 rate or expenses to be recovered from the prospective adoptive parents to cover the costs including legal expenses, administrative expenses etc. were raised from Rs 78 per day per child to Rs 100 per child and the lump sum amount of Rs 6000 payable by the prospective adoptive parents towards the costs was also raised to Rs 10, 000 per child.
5. Through this application, Respondent 2 seeks revision of the scrutiny fee, which had been fixed at the rate of Rs 450 per child for inter-country adoptions and Rs 150 per child in case of in-country adoptions.
6. After hearing learned counsel for Respondent 2 and the learned Attorney General for the Union of India, we revise the rate of scrutiny fee which was fixed as early as in 1986, insofar as inter-country adoptions are concerned from Rs 450 to Rs 2500 per child and insofar as in-country adoptions are concerned from Rs 150 to Rs 500 per child.
7. Copies of both the orders be sent to all the High Courts and the institutions concerned.
Alert