Rules so far barred biological father’s name from being replaced.
In a major fillip to adoption, the Bombay high court on Friday ruled that a minor can be issued a passport in the name of his adoptive father.
A division bench of acting chief justice JN Patel and justice SC Dharmadhikari directed the authorities to issue a passport to a Pune-based 5-year-old boy in the name of his stepfather, who has legally adopted him. The court made a distinction between a stepfather, and one who has formally adopted the child.
The order came following a petition filed by a Pune businessman, who married a divorcee and adopted her minor son in October 2008. The wife sought divorce from her first husband in 2006, and re-married in 2008 under the Special Marriage Act. The couple had applied to the authorities seeking a passport for their minor son.
The couple used the petitioner’s (adoptive father) name as the middle name, instead of that of the biological father.
The passport authorities rejected the application last year, citing a rule of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). “In the event of remarriage, the name of the adoptive father cannot be written as a middle name,” said the authorities, while rejecting the passport application.
The petitioner then moved the high court against the decision. “The authorities, and the MEA in particular, have not considered cases of adoption. Under personal laws, it is contended that after adoption, the child is known as the child of adoptive parent,” argued the counsel for the petitioner.
The counsel added that the petitioner has formally adopted the child, which involves consent from the biological father, and is therefore no longer the stepfather, but the legal father of the child. To buttress the point, the court was presented with an affidavit filed by the biological father of the boy stating that he does not want to contest the petition.
“The biological father has no objection to his name being deleted and substituted by that of the adoptive father. The instructions from the MEA are regarding the stepfather, and do not pertain to cases in which an individual has adopted the child by law,” observed the judges.
The court also directed the authorities to issue a passport to the child by deleting his biological father’s as the middle name, and replace it by that of the adoptive father.
(Identities have not been disclosed to protect the interests of the minor)
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