Dr Gazala Tarannum’ joys knew no bounds when she shared her experiences of adopting a female child at a programme held by District legal Services Authority (DlSA) in the Civil Court premises on Saturday.
“Earlier, I being a single prospective parent had a lot of time. Now, I have no time to spare. I can’t narrate my happiness the way she gives a huge smile and hugs me when I return to home in the evening,” gushed Tarannum, a medical officer, in Gaya district of Bihar.
Tarannum was not alone. There were over a dozen couples, some of them travelled from Sweden and Malta, who embarked on a new journey of life where they are all set to experience the parenthood. They felt proud to share their joys of adoption and seek blessings from Justice D N Patel, Executive Chairman of the Jharkhand State legal Services Authority (JHAlSA), the chief guest of the programme.
Ranchi Principal Judicial Commissioner Navneet Kumar, noted neurosurgeon and a found member of Karuna, an NGO, Dr HP Narayan and JHAlSA member secretary A K Rai were also present on the occasion. “This is a wonderful start. The New Year has several surprises for us. We had never thought of adopting a child so easily. Our journey initiated this year in the month of June. Thanks to the simplified legal proceedings, we have adopted a 14-month female child,” said a couple from Malta, requesting anonymity.
Hana Asha Charlotta Olsson and Mickel Reinhold Karisson, a couple from Sweden, was also overwhelmed with joy after adopting a child. Interestingly, Hana Asha, a lady of Indian origin, had been herself adopted by a Swedish couple when she was four years old.
Focusing on Juvenile Justice Act (Children in need of Care and Protection) norms, Justice Patel said that children surviving in different circumstances at present need proper care, protection and suitable atmosphere that can nurture their development changing their hard circumstances. “Rehabilitation is the most important aspect under the Juvenile Justice Act. Simplification of adoption laws, after the modification of JJ Act has made the adoption proceedings easy. It is immensely important at this point of time for Child Welfare Committee (CWC) to provide free for adoption certificate at the earliest to all such parents who are willing to adopt kids so that legal proceedings must get passed immediately from the family court bringing ease to such parents,” he maintained. Praising the work of DlSA, Ranchi, Justice Patel pointed out, “So far 120 adoptions have been done from 2015 till date and this is due to the constant efforts of Ranchi DAlSA members. Among all the five states, that include Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Uttarakhand, Jharkhand is one of the preferred destinations for adoption. Ranchi DAlSA is ranked best among the 200 districts legal services authorities and it is praise worthy.”
After simplifying the adoption norms under Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), all legal procedure to adopt a child is no longer a tedious one now and has brought much respite to all those parents who want to adopt a child. As per the rules, easy availability of passport for the adopted kid within three days after completing all the legal formalities is one vital aspect under the new prescribed guidelines and is immensely helpful for those couple settled in foreign countries. The awareness programme held by the DlSA in association with Karuna, an NGO, was aimed to sensitize the society on the vulnerable issue of adoption that is mainly considered as a stigma even in the contemporary days informing the participants about the adoption norms process in presence of expert panelists.