Child Legally Free for Adoption -- Declaration Without Mandatory Inquiry -- CWC order declaring biological parents incapacitated set aside for want of statutory inquiry and hearing
(i) Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, S.38 -- Child Legally Free for Adoption -- Declaration Without Mandatory Inquiry -- The Child Welfare Committee must make all efforts to trace the parents or guardians and complete the requisite inquiry before determining a child to be orphan or abandoned. No FIR can be registered against a biological parent during pendency of such inquiry. Failure to conduct the inquiry and afford opportunity of hearing vitiates a declaration that the child is legally free for adoption. (ii) Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, S.2(14)(v) -- Child in Need of Care and Protection -- Finding of Parental Incapacity -- A conclusion that a parent is unfit or incapacitated to care for a child requires examination of relevant factors such as physical and mental health, substance abuse, history of neglect, living environment, financial stability and criminal record, supported by a social investigation report under Section 36. Such a finding cannot rest merely on the circumstances in which the child was found.
LOGIN TO READCaseLawToday.com is powered by M/s Law Herald Infotech
