A family court in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday stalled the adoption process of a one-year-old child in view of the claims made by a woman that it was her biological child and was surrendered by her parents.
The court directed the police to submit its inquiry report on a sealed cover and suggested the need for a DNA test. The court will consider the case again on November 1.
While 22-year old Anupama hailing from Thiruvananthapuram alleges that her parents handed over the child to the adoption agency by threatening her, her parents and some others involved were maintaining that she willingly agreed to surrender the child born out of a relationship with a married man.
The child was surrendered at the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare three days after Anupama gave birth to it in October 2020 and the Child Welfare Committee declared the child legally free for adoption. Subsequently, the child was handed over to a couple who was on the seniority list of Central Adoption Resource Agency on pre-adoption foster care and the final adoption order was about to come.
Hence the fresh claim of the biological mother for the child is posing legal and social issues.
Meanwhile, the privacy of the adoptive parents is also at stake as a section of media even visited the family which is residing in another state. This had raised serious queries on how the whereabouts of the adoptive parents were leaked out.
The family court stalled the procedures considering a petition filed by the state government and the Child Welfare Committee.
Anupama alleged that her parents took away the child assuring her that they would return after her sister's marriage. But later her parents threatened her when she asked the child. She also alleged that his father, who is a local leader of ruling CPM in Kerala, used his political influence to suppress her complaints to the authorities for about six months and now it got highlighted following media reports.
Anupama, who was also a left-front student activist, was in a relationship with another left front youth leader Ajith, who was already married. Anupama's family maintained that they opposed the relationship as Ajith was already married. Apart from Anupama's parents, Ajith's first wife Naziya also alleged that Anupama surrendered the child for adoption willingly. Naziya, who got separated from Ajith in January, also alleged that she had to face much harassment from Ajith as she questioned his relationship with Anupama.
The police registered a case against Anupama's parents and some relatives and friends based on Anupama's complaint of kidnapping the child.
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