Even a divorced working woman has the right to adopt a child, said the Mumbai High Court. The idea that a divorced working woman cannot personally attend to a minor child reflects the mediaeval conservative mindset.
Therefore, on the basis of this mentality, the court allowed the 47-year-old woman to adopt her four-year-old niece, explaining that a divorced working woman cannot be prevented from adopting a child. It is mandatory that the sole parent should be an employee. Therefore, a single parent cannot be disqualified from adopting a child on the basis that he is an employee, a single bench of Justice Gauri Godse clarified in its order on April 11.
The court gave the above important judgement while deciding on a petition filed by teacher Shabnam Janhan Ansari. The civil court at Bhusawal in March 2022 also cancelled the order of rejecting the application of the petitioner to adopt the minor niece. Not only this, the court also criticised the civil court's decision to dismiss the petitioner on the ground that she was divorced and employed.
As the petitioner is employed and divorced, she will not be able to give personal attention to the child. Moreover, the civil court had said in its order that the child should be with his biological parents. However, the petitioner approached the High Court against the observation of the lower court claiming that it was perverse and unjust. In his order, Justice Godse observed that the reason given by the lower court while upholding her plea was baseless.
The lower court's comparison between a birth mother being a housewife and a potential adoptive mother (especially a single parent) being employed reflects the mindset of mediaeval conservative concepts of the family; the court echoed the lower court's approach in this case. The court also said that this approach of the lower court is defeating the purpose of the law in this regard.
In general, single parents are required to be employed, with few exceptions. However, the court also clarified that it is not appropriate to disqualify the working parent for adoption on any imaginary basis. In the present case, the petitioner has fulfilled all the conditions required for adoption. Therefore, it is improper for the lower court to reject the petition for adoption of her child on the ground that the petitioner is an employee. While granting relief to the petitioner, the court observed that the reason recorded by the lower court while rejecting the petitioner's application is baseless, illegal, perverse, unjust and unacceptable.
While setting aside the order of the lower court, the court allowed the birth parents of the girl to give her custody to the petitioner. Also, declaring the petitioner as the adoptive parent of the girl, the Bhusawal Municipal Council was ordered to make the necessary changes in the birth certificate of the girl as per this decision.
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