New Delhi, India - Ending a long-standing discrimination, the Central government has amended laws to grant non-Hindus full rights for adopting children. Until now they could only be ‘guardians’ of adopted children and did not enjoy full parenthood that Hindus had.
Under the new guidelines issued under the Juvenile Justice Act 2000, notified on October 26, the rules significantly increases the “legal rights of both adopted children and the couples who give them a home,” says the Times of India in a report Saturday.
The new rules also simplify the procedures for adoption.
Adoption rules for Hindu couple were governed by the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, and for others the Guardian and Ward Act. Children adopted under GAWA faced several problems including in school and college admissions, inheritance etc.
According to the report, the new amendments would also put foreign parents at par with the Hindu parents. “The changes aim to more sharply define and widen the ambit of the Act, protect juveniles from harsh punishment and provide for better treatment in juvenile homes,” the paper quoted an official as saying.