Supreme Court urges overhaul of slow adoption process, warns delays push parents to illegal routes

The Supreme Court on Wednesday flagged serious flaws in India’s adoption framework, describing it as “overly cumbersome and frustrating” for prospective parents, according to a TOI. It urged the government to simplify and streamline procedures so that childless couples are encouraged to adopt legally rather than resorting to unlawful means.

A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and K.V. Viswanathan made the observations while hearing a matter related to child trafficking. The court noted that the current system is so time-consuming that many parents bypass legal channels altogether.

“Not having children is still viewed as a social stigma. Many couples desperately want a child, but the process is complex and slow,” the bench said.

Long queues, few children

TOI the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), India recorded more than 4,500 adoptions in 2025–26, the highest figure in over a decade. Y

et, demand far outweighs supply—over 36,600 prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) are currently registered, while only 2,756 children are legally available for adoption.

The court noted that the average wait for adopting infants or young children is now around 3.5 years. This gap between availability and demand, it said, is a driving factor behind unlawful adoptions. “The present adoption process is taking too long. Parents want a child badly but the process is cumbersome and frustrating,” the bench observed.

Court restores custody

Highlighting the systemic issues, the court referred to a case decided just a day earlier involving four sets of adoptive parents from Telangana. They had taken custody of children—aged between a few months and three years—after learning that the biological parents could not care for them.

However, they had not followed the legal procedure or informed the adoption authorities, the media outlet report said.

When police learned of the adoptions, the children were removed from the families and placed under the care of the Child Welfare Project Director and Integrated Child Protection Services. Invoking its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court restored custody to the adoptive parents, noting that the children’s welfare was paramount.

The bench said the case underscored why a more accessible and efficient adoption process is essential—not only to protect children but also to prevent well-intentioned parents from being caught in legal disputes.