The Punjab & Haryana High Court observed on Thursday that under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, a Hindu child can be adopted by a Hindu family even without the need for a registered deed.

The case involves a compassionate appointment in the Railways for an adoptive daughter, whose application was denied because her Class 10th certificate listed her biological parents' names instead of those of her adoptive parents.

The Court dismissed the Union's argument that the applicant, born in 1997, could not be considered legally adopted, citing the adoption deed registered in 2017 (when she was an adult). The deed stated that the adoption had actually taken place in 2010.

Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Meenakshi I. Mehta observed that, "the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (the Act) provides the manners and methods in which an adoption is to be made of a Hindu child in a Hindu Family. Adoption can be by way of a registered-deed or even without it."

The Court further clarified that the act of giving and taking in adoption must be performed by both the biological and adoptive parents. An adoption, initially carried out through a customary method or any similar process, can later be documented in writing, and the adoption deed can subsequently be registered.

The Union Government had filed a plea challenging the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), which directed the Government to consider the case of the adopted daughter of a deceased employee for appointment on compassionate grounds.

Counsel for the Union Government argued that the adoption deed could not be considered legal and valid, as it was registered on June 2, 2017, when the girl was over 20 years old. However, the Court observed that there was no registered adoption deed when Sukhpreet Kaur was in Class 10, which explained why the names of her biological parents, rather than her adoptive parents, appeared in her Punjab School Education Board certificate.

"It is a matter of common knowledge that so far as the School Education Boards are concerned, they would only recognize actual parents of a child for being mentioned in the certificate and the names of father and mother would change only on the presentation of a registered adoption-deed," added the bench.

Speaking for the bench, Justice Sharma emphasized that once an adoption deed is registered, it would be presumed that a valid adoption has occurred, with the right to rebut this presumption. Such a presumption is provided under Section 16 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act. The Court also rejected the Union's argument that Kaur's adoption was not in accordance with the law, based on the fact that she had attained the age of majority on the day the adoption deed was registered.

"The date of birth of the applicant-respondent no.1 (Sukhpreet Kaur) is 23.03.1997. The registered adoption-deed reflects that the adoption had taken place on 12.01.2010 but the registration could not take place," the bench pointed.

The Court clarified that the compassionate appointment of the adopted daughter cannot be denied solely because her name does not appear in the Class 10 certificate. In light of this, the Court dismissed the Union's plea.

Ms. Meghna Malik, Central Government Counsel, for the petitioners.

Title: Union of India and another v. Sukhpreet Kaur and another