The Karnataka High Court has ruled that the filing of a charge sheet under Section 80 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 is without merit in the absence of a statement that a kid has been abandoned by his birth or adoptive parents or guardians.
Section 80 of the JJ Act establishes a penalty for adopting any orphan, abandoned, or surrendered child without first complying with the conditions and procedures set out in the Act.
The plea submitted by two couples was granted by a single-judge panel presided by Justice Hemant Chandangoudar in Dharwad, who also dismissed the proceedings brought against them in accordance with the Act.
The prosecution had asserted that accused No. 3 had entered into an adoption agreement with the girl’s mother. It is alleged that she was born to accused Nos. 1 and 2 without following the requirements or process provided by the Act, so creating an offence punishable under Section 80 of that Act.
The petitioners were served with summonses by the Magistrate after he had taken cognizance of the offence. Following this, the four defendants filed a complaint with the High Court.
The petitioners argued that the child claimed to have been adopted by accused No.3 is not an orphan, abandoned, or surrendered child, and therefore does not constitute the commission of an act punishable under Section 80 of the Act by accused No.3. As a result, the charge sheet produced against the petitioners – accused is completely devoid of substance.
At the start, the bench noted that a person is considered to have committed an offence if he or she adopts an orphan, an abandoned child, or a child who has been surrendered without first complying with the conditions and procedures set down in the Adoption Act.
However, in the instant instance, the kid in issue was not an abandoned child, orphan, or surrendered child, as defined by Sections 2(1), 2(42), and 2(60) of the Act. Instead, the child in question was a child who had been abandoned, orphaned, or surrendered.
Consequently, in the absence of any official statement that the kid has been abandoned by his biological or adoptive parents or guardians, the submission of the charge sheet is equally devoid of any legal significance.
Therefore, it granted the petition and ordered that the proceedings against the petitioners be halted.
Published By: Sachin Soanwane
