{"id":258324,"date":"2023-09-01T20:26:50","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T14:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=258324"},"modified":"2023-09-16T12:52:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T07:22:23","slug":"a-progressive-ucc-must-protect-the-childs-best-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/a-progressive-ucc-must-protect-the-childs-best-interest\/","title":{"rendered":"A progressive UCC must protect the child\u2019s best interests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source:<\/strong> The post is based on the article \u201cA progressive UCC must protect the child\u2019s best interests\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 1st September 2023.<\/p>\n

Syllabus:<\/strong> GS2- Mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections (child)<\/p>\n

News:<\/strong> The article talks about the importance of India’s Uniform Civil Code (UCC) giving more importance to the child’s well-being in custody disputes rather than biological connections. It mentions recent court judgments that favored biological parents over adoptive ones, causing potential harm to child welfare and adoption rates.<\/p>\n

What is the current Indian law on child custody?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Guardians and Wards Act, 1890:<\/strong> This act emphasizes the child’s welfare as the primary consideration in custody decisions.<\/p>\n

Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Generally, the father is considered the natural guardian.<\/p>\n

The mother becomes the guardian when the child is below five.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court in the Githa Hariharan case (1999) interpreted “after him” to mean in the father’s absence, not necessarily after his death.<\/p>\n

Islamic Law on Custody: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Custody is seen as the child’s right, not the parents’.<\/p>\n

The mother is the preferred custodian, with several relatives listed before the father.<\/p>\n

Different Islamic schools have varied rules:<\/p>\n

Hanafi School:<\/strong> Mother retains custody until boys are seven and girls are 17.<\/p>\n

Shafii and Hanbali Schools:<\/strong> Mothers have custody until a daughter marries.<\/p>\n

Maliki School:<\/strong> Mothers get custody of male children until puberty and female children until marriage. After these points, children can choose their guardian.<\/p>\n

How does the Indian law view biological parents vs. adoptive parents?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

General Trend:<\/strong> Indian courts have recently shown a leaning towards the rights of biological parents over adoptive parents in custody disputes.<\/p>\n

Bombay High Court (2023) Example<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

A child resulting from an alleged rape was given up for adoption.<\/p>\n

On the biological father’s petition, the court halted the adoption proceedings.<\/p>\n

The court, sidelining the adoptive parents and Child Welfare Committee’s reservations, awarded custody to the biological father.<\/p>\n

Nasrin Begum Case (2022) Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n

A child was with adoptive parents for six years.<\/p>\n

The High Court gave precedence to the biological parents, emphasizing the child’s right to know her identity and the rights of the biological parents, disregarding the adoption agreement.<\/p>\n

What are the implications of the Indian law view for adoptions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Implications for Adoptions in India:<\/p>\n

Decreased Adoption Rates:<\/strong> If biological parents are consistently favored, potential adoptive parents might be deterred from adopting.<\/p>\n

Child’s Best Interests:<\/strong> The child’s welfare and trauma can be sidelined.<\/p>\n

Legal Ambiguity:<\/strong> Adoption agreements can be overruled, leading to uncertainty. For example, despite an existing adoption agreement in the Nasrin Begum case, the High Court prioritized the biological parents’ rights.<\/p>\n

Current legal trends could jeopardize the stability and security of the adoption system in India, potentially putting child welfare at risk.<\/p>\n

What should a progressive Uniform Civil Code (UCC) consider?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Child’s Best Interests:<\/strong> UCC should prioritize the child’s welfare in all custody disputes, overriding biological or adoptive preferences.<\/p>\n

Rights of Adoptive Parents:<\/strong> Protecting their rights is crucial; otherwise, adoptions might decline.<\/p>\n

Beyond Biological Ties:<\/strong> The UCC shouldn’t overemphasize biological connections; bonding through care and love should be equally recognized.<\/p>\n

Inclusive Guardianship:<\/strong> Make provisions for various guardianship forms, including single parents, surrogate parents, and queer parents.<\/p>\n

A modern UCC should prioritize child welfare and reflect the diverse nature of family structures today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: The post is based on the article \u201cA progressive UCC must protect the child\u2019s best interests\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 1st September 2023. Syllabus: GS2- Mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections (child) News: The article talks about the importance of India’s Uniform Civil Code (UCC)… Continue reading A progressive UCC must protect the child\u2019s best interests<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[300,212,10498],"class_list":["post-258324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-governance","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258324\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}