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Dasari Anil Kumar v. The Child Welfare Project Director

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 972Decided 12 Aug 2025
C.A. No.-010544-010544-2025 (arising from SLP (C) No. 6322 of 2025, with three connected SLPs)
Mrs. Justice B.V. Nagarathna · Justice K.V. Viswanathan

Background

Four sets of "adoptive parents" in Telangana had taken in infant girls (aged between two days and twenty days old) through informal arrangements facilitated by common friends or biological parents unable to raise them, and raised the children for periods ranging from several months to nearly three years. Following an FIR alleging illegal child trafficking/adoption, police forcibly took custody of the children in May 2024 and handed them to a Child Welfare Committee. A Single Judge of the Telangana High Court held the police action illegal and allowed the families to retain custody, but a Division Bench reversed this, citing non-compliance with the Juvenile Justice Act's procedural safeguards for children in need of care.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court, invoking its special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice, directed that custody of all four children be restored to their respective adoptive families. It grounded this in the "best interest of the child" principles codified in Section 3 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (including family responsibility, safety, institutionalization as a last resort, and repatriation/restoration) noting the strong bonds already formed between the children and their caregivers. As a safeguard, it directed District/State Legal Services Authorities to monitor the children's welfare through quarterly reports and periodic home inspections, without foreclosing any other legal proceedings the authorities might pursue.

Lesson Learnt

Even where adoption formalities were not strictly followed, courts will prioritize a young child's actual bonding and best interests over rigid procedural compliance, while still building in independent oversight to protect the child going forward.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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