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Under current Indian law, a married Hindu woman aged 32 adopts a boy aged eight with her living…

Under section 8 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, as substituted with effect from 31 August 2010, a married Hindu woman of sound mind who is not a minor may…

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Under current Indian law, a married Hindu woman aged 32 adopts a boy aged eight with her living husband’s consent. Assume all other statutory requirements are met. What is the status of the adoption?

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Answer and explanation

Correct answer A

Under section 8 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, as substituted with effect from 31 August 2010, a married Hindu woman of sound mind who is not a minor may adopt with her living husband’s consent. Section 11(iv) requires a woman who adopts a boy to be at least 21 years older than him. Here the age difference is 24 years and the other statutory conditions are met.

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Option A

Correct. Under Section 8 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (as substituted by the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2010, Act 30 of 2010) and its Proviso, a married female Hindu of sound mind and not a minor has the capacity to adopt a son or daughter with the consent of her husband, and since she (32 years) is 24 years older than the male child (8 years), satisfying the minimum 21-year age difference under Section 11(iv), the adoption is valid.

Option B

Under current section 8, the husband gave the consent required on these facts. The age difference also satisfies section 11(iv).

Option C

Incorrect. Here the husband has given his consent as required by the Proviso to Section 8, and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 does not make a valid adoption voidable at the option of the husband.

Option D

Incorrect. Under Section 15 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, a valid adoption cannot be cancelled by any party, nor can the adopted child renounce his or her status upon attaining majority.

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