Summary
Invoking Article 142 and the general principles in Section 3 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the Supreme Court directed that four minor children taken by the police from persons claiming to be their adoptive parents and placed with the Child Welfare Committee be returned to those persons, subject to quarterly welfare reports through the Legal Services Authority, without prejudice to other proceedings initiated by the authorities.
Issues
- Whether, in the children's best interest, custody of minor children taken by the police from self-described adoptive parents and kept with the Child Welfare Committee should be restored to those persons pending the statutory process.
Provisions considered
- Section 3 (general principles, clauses (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (xii) and (xiii)), Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015The Court relied on these general principles, which it extracted, as the basis for returning the children to the adoptive parents with whom they had bonded, treating institutional care as a measure of last resort. (¶¶ 11, 12, 15)
- Sections 36, 37 and 38, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015The High Court Division Bench had declined to disturb the Committee's custody despite non-compliance with these sections and directed orders under Section 37 and decision of adoption applications within fixed periods; the Supreme Court's order restoring custody was made without prejudice to any other proceedings initiated by the authorities. (¶¶ 6, 18)
- Article 142, Constitution of IndiaThe Court invoked its power to do complete justice, in the peculiar facts, to direct the return of the children to the adoptive parents. (¶¶ 10, 17)
Held
- Given the bonding between the children (with the adoptive parents for periods ranging from a few months to three years) and the persons claiming to be their adoptive parents, the ends of justice and the best interest of the children required that custody be returned to them; the Court so directed under Article 142 in the peculiar facts, guided by the principles of best interest, family responsibility, safety, positive measures, institutionalisation as a last resort, and repatriation and restoration in Section 3 of the 2015 Act. (¶¶ 10, 11, 13, 15, 17)
- As a safeguard, the Member Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority and/or the District Legal Services Committee of the area where the adoptive parents reside shall obtain quarterly reports on each child's welfare and progress from November 2025, may depute a Child Welfare Expert to inspect the home, and copies of the reports may be submitted to the jurisdictional Child Welfare Committee. (¶¶ 14, 16)
- The order does not come in the way of any other proceeding initiated by the respondent authorities. (¶ 18)
Result
Appeals disposed of; respondent authorities directed to hand over custody of the children to the respective adoptive parents on or before 14.08.2025 by 5:00 PM, subject to quarterly welfare reporting through the Legal Services Authority; other proceedings by the authorities unaffected.