9 Hindu Family, Adoption and Succession · 9.1 Hindu Family, Adoption and Succession
9.1.2 Adoption and maintenance (HAMA 1956)
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 says who may adopt, who may give and who may be taken in adoption, what makes an adoption valid and what it does, and who must maintain a wife, children, aged parents and a dead person's dependants; adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children of any religion runs separately under the Juvenile Justice Act through CARA.
- APPSC Paper I
- Standard level
- 11 min read
- Free
Core facts
- Act: Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (asked 2022 and 2023), Act 78 of 1956, in force 21 December 1956. Part of the Hindu Code with the HMA 1955, HSA 1956 and the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956.
- Classical reason for adoption: to continue the family line and have a son to perform the funeral and ancestral rites (pinda-pradanam) (asked 2026).
- Applies to: Hindus (with Virashaivas, Lingayats, Brahmo, Prarthana and Arya Samajists), Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs; not to Scheduled Tribes unless the Central Government notifies.
- Four requisites of a valid adoption (S.6): the adopter has the capacity and right to adopt; the giver has the capacity to give; the child is capable of being adopted; all other conditions of the Chapter are met. An adoption that breaks the Act is void (S.5).
- Who may adopt: any Hindu who is major (18) and of sound mind, man (S.7) or woman (S.8), a son or a daughter.
- Spouse's consent: a man needs his wife's consent; a married woman needs her husband's consent. Consent is not needed if the spouse has renounced the world, ceased to be a Hindu, or been declared of unsound mind by a court.
- Who may give (S.9): only the father, mother or guardian. Father and mother have an equal right, each with the other's consent. A guardian needs the court's previous permission.
- Who may be adopted (S.10): a Hindu; not already adopted (asked 2026); unmarried; under 15; the last two unless custom allows.
- Age gap (S.11): a man adopting a girl, or a woman adopting a boy, must be at least 21 years older (asked 2022).
- Effect (S.12): from the date of adoption the child belongs to the adoptive family for all purposes. A valid adoption cannot be cancelled (S.15).
- CARA: Central Adoption Resource Authority, a statutory body under the Ministry of Women and Child Development (asked 2023), set up under S.68 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
Explained
Adoption, section by section (Chapter II).
| Section | Rule |
|---|---|
| 5 | Every adoption after the Act must follow this Chapter; otherwise void; a void adoption gives no rights in the new family and takes none away in the old |
| 6 | Four requisites of a valid adoption |
| 7 | Male Hindu: major, sound mind; wife's consent (every living wife) unless she renounced the world, ceased to be Hindu or was declared of unsound mind |
| 8 | Female Hindu: major, sound mind; husband's consent on the same three exceptions (substituted in 2010) |
| 9 | Givers: father, mother (equal right), guardian with court permission |
| 10 | Child: Hindu, not already adopted, unmarried, under 15 (custom may allow) |
| 11 | No living son or daughter of the same kind; 21-year gap; no joint adoption by two persons; actual giving and taking |
| 12 | Effects of adoption |
| 13 | Adoptive parents keep the power to dispose of their property by transfer or will |
| 14 | Who is the adoptive mother |
| 15 | Valid adoption cannot be cancelled; the child cannot go back |
| 16 | Registered document of adoption: court presumes it valid until disproved |
| 17 | No payment for adoption: up to six months, or fine, or both; prosecution only with State Government sanction |
Other conditions in S.11.
- To adopt a son, the adopter must have no living Hindu son, son's son or son's son's son.
- To adopt a daughter, the adopter must have no living Hindu daughter or son's daughter.
- The same child cannot be adopted by two or more persons together.
- The child must actually be given and taken with intent to move it from its birth family (or, for an abandoned child, from where it was brought up). Datta Homam is not essential.
Guardian giving a child (S.9(4), (5)).
- Possible when both parents are dead, have renounced the world, have abandoned the child, have been declared of unsound mind, or the parentage is unknown.
- The court (City Civil Court or District Court where the child lives) must be satisfied that the adoption is for the child's welfare, that the child's wishes were weighed, and that no payment was taken.
Effects of adoption (S.12).
- All ties with the birth family are replaced by ties in the adoptive family.
- But the child still cannot marry anyone he or she could not have married in the birth family.
- Property already vested in the child stays with the child.
- The child cannot divest anyone of an estate vested before the adoption.
Adoptive mother (S.14).
- A married man adopts: his wife is the adoptive mother. With more than one wife: the senior-most in marriage is the mother; the others are stepmothers.
- A widower or bachelor adopts and later marries: the wife is the stepmother. A widow or unmarried woman adopts and later marries: the husband is the stepfather.
Maintenance (Chapter III).
- Maintenance (S.3(b)) = food, clothing, residence, education, medical care; for an unmarried daughter, also reasonable marriage expenses.
| Section | Who is maintained | By whom |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Wife, for life | Husband |
| 19 | Widowed daughter-in-law | Father-in-law, from coparcenary property; ends on her remarriage |
| 20 | Children (legitimate or not) while minor; aged or infirm parents; unmarried daughter unable to maintain herself | Every Hindu, during his or her lifetime |
| 21–22 | Dependants of a dead Hindu | Heirs, out of the estate they took, in proportion to their shares |
- Wife's right to live apart and still get maintenance (S.18(2)): desertion; cruelty; another wife living; a concubine; conversion; any other just cause. She loses it if she is unchaste or converts (S.18(3)).
- In S.20, "parent" includes a childless stepmother.
- Dependants (S.21) include the father, mother, widow (until remarriage), minor sons and grandsons, unmarried daughters and granddaughters, widowed daughter, son's widow, and the illegitimate son (while minor) and daughter (while unmarried).
- The court fixes the amount at its discretion (S.23); it can be altered on a change of circumstances (S.25). Debts of the dead person come before maintenance (S.26). A convert cannot claim (S.24).
Amendments to HAMA.
| Year | Act | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Repealing and Amending Act (Act 58) | S.29 repealed |
| 1962 | HAMA (Amendment) Act (Act 45) | Abandoned and unknown-parentage children; guardian may give in adoption |
| 2010 | Personal Laws (Amendment) Act (Act 30), from 31 August 2010 | S.8: a married woman may adopt; S.9: mother's equal right to give |
| 2019 | Personal Laws (Amendment) Act (Act 6), from 1 March 2019 | Leprosy ground in S.18(2)(c) removed |
| 2019 | J&K Reorganisation Act (Act 34) | Extends to Jammu and Kashmir |
CARA and the Juvenile Justice route.
- First set up in 1990 as the Central Adoption Resource Agency; statutory since 2016 under S.68 of the JJ Act, 2015.
- Functions: promote in-country adoption, help inter-state adoption, regulate inter-country adoption, frame regulations. It is India's Central Authority under the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993.
- Online system: CARINGS (Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System). Current rules: Adoption Regulations, 2022.
- The JJ Act covers orphan, abandoned and surrendered children and is open to people of any religion. Since the 2021 amendment the adoption order is made by the District Magistrate (including an Additional DM), not a court.
- S.56(3), JJ Act: the JJ Act does not apply to adoptions under HAMA. All inter-country adoptions go through the JJ Act.
Common traps
- ✗ "HAMA was passed in 1955." ✓ 1956; the HMA is 1955.
- ✗ "A child up to 21 years can be adopted." ✓ Under 15 (S.10); 21 is the age gap for adoption across sexes (S.11).
- ✗ "The age gap must be 18 (or 25) years." ✓ 21 years under HAMA; 25 years is the JJ Regulations' rule.
- ✗ "Only married women can adopt." ✓ Any major Hindu woman of sound mind; a married one needs her husband's consent.
- ✗ "A child can be adopted more than once." ✓ The child must not already be adopted, and a valid adoption can never be cancelled.
- ✗ "Datta Homam is essential." ✓ Not essential; actual giving and taking is.
- ✗ "A guardian may give a child in adoption on his own." ✓ Only with the court's previous permission (S.9(4)).
- ✗ "CARA works under the Ministry of Home Affairs (or Education)." ✓ Women and Child Development.
- ✗ "The father has the first right to give in adoption." ✓ Since 2010, father and mother have an equal right.
Quick revision
- HAMA 1956, Act 78, in force 21 December 1956.
- S.6: adopter's capacity, giver's capacity, child capable, other conditions.
- S.7 man needs wife's consent; S.8 woman needs husband's consent (2010).
- S.9: father, mother (equal), guardian with court permission.
- S.10: Hindu, not already adopted, unmarried, under 15.
- S.11: 21-year gap across sexes; giving and taking; Datta Homam not needed.
- S.12 effects from the date of adoption; S.15 no cancellation; S.17 no payment.
- S.18 wife, S.19 widowed daughter-in-law, S.20 children and aged parents, S.21 dependants.
- CARA: Ministry of Women and Child Development; S.68 JJ Act 2015; Regulations 2022.
- JJ adoption: any religion; order by the District Magistrate (2021).
Go deeper: Deeper (beyond what APPSC Paper I usually asks)
Deeper Advanced
- **Shabnam Hashmi v. Union of India (2014): adoption under the JJ Act is an enabling** option for anyone, whatever the religion; it does not force a uniform law or override personal law.
- **Ghisalal v. Dhapubai (2011):** the wife's consent under S.7 must be proved; mere presence at the ceremony is not consent.
- **M. Vanaja v. M. Sarla Devi (2020):** bringing a child up for years and naming her as daughter in records does not prove adoption; the S.7 consent and the S.11 giving and taking must be proved.
- **Abhilasha v. Parkash (2020): an unmarried daughter who cannot maintain herself keeps her S.20(3) right after majority**.
- JJ route eligibility: a single woman may adopt a child of either sex; a single man may not adopt a girl (S.57(4), JJ Act). The Regulations require at least 25 years between the child and each adoptive parent, and two years of stable marriage for a couple.
- Uttar Pradesh alone (1976 State amendment) requires a registered deed for every adoption from 1 January 1977.
- Before 1956 only a son could be adopted, and a woman adopted only for her husband (a widow needed his authority). HAMA let daughters be adopted and let women adopt in their own right.
Practise this topic. Questions on Adoption and succession, with answers explained.
All Hindu Family, Adoption and Succession notes · APPSC Paper I syllabus · APPSC Paper I Mock 1 with answers · Start free
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