Now Reading: Calcutta High Court Quashes Adoption, Faults CWC for Skipping Inquiry
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Calcutta High Court Quashes Adoption, Faults CWC for Skipping Inquiry
The Calcutta High Court has set aside a Child Welfare Committee (CWC) order that declared a newborn legally free for adoption, holding that the Committee failed to conduct a mandatory inquiry under…
The Story in Brief
The Calcutta High Court has set aside a Child Welfare Committee (CWC) order that declared a newborn legally free for adoption, holding that the Committee failed to conduct a mandatory inquiry under the Juvenile Justice Act. Justice Krishna Rao directed the adoptive parents to surrender the child to the CWC and ordered a fresh inquiry within four weeks, with a hearing for the biological parents.
The case dates to March 2024, when a baby with injuries was found near a drain in Kolkata. A man, Ritam Das, claimed to be the biological father, and Asmita Poddar said she was the mother. Despite a DNA test confirming both as parents, the CWC declared the child abandoned and the parents 'incapacitated'. The High Court noted police found Poddar's deceased mother had dropped the baby, and that the CWC ignored the DNA report and did not serve individual notices.
The Indian Opinion
The CWC's order shows a worrying disregard for both procedure and DNA evidence. The narrative that any child found injured must be 'abandoned' for adoption, without hearing the biological parents, is dangerous. The Court rightly asked: what is 'incapacitated' without any social investigation? The test now will be whether the CWC follows the High Court's directive to conduct a proper inquiry, or uses fresh proceedings to shield its earlier rushed decision.
Source: livelaw.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
