Adopted Child has same status as Biological Child under Hindu Law: Madras HC [Read Order]

In an order passed recently, the Madras High Court reiterated that an adopted child has the same rights of succession as a biological child under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, provided that the fact of adoption has been proved..Justice K Ravichandrabaabu passed the order while disposing of a case presented by a mother and her adopted daughter concerning the denial of a Legal Heirship Certificate by the state government authorities..By way of background, one S Chandrasekar had died intestate in June 2017, leaving his wife G Mamtha and their adopted daughter C Soundarya as his legal heirs..Following their marriage in 1987, G Mamtha and S Chandrasekar had adopted a girl, Soundarya in 1994. The fact that Soundarya was acknowledged as Chandrasekar’s daughter was reflected in various records such as School Transfer Certificate, Ration Card etc..Regardless, a request made in July 2012 for the issuance of a Legal Heirship certificate in favour of Soundarya was denied by the Tashildar. The Revenue Inspector had initially recommended the issuance of the Certificate in October 2017. However, the request was eventually turned down, on the ground that being an adopted daughter, Soundarya could not be considered a Class I heir under the Hindu Succession Act..The Tashildar had informed the petitioners that Soundarya was only a Class II heir and that their only remedy was to approach the civil court..The High Court found that the Act, as well as precedents, would show without any ambiguity that an adopted child, from the date of the legal adoption, becomes the child of the adoptive parents for all purposes..Reference was made to Section 12 of the Act, which lays down the effect of adoptions as follows:.“An adopted child shall be deemed to be the child of his or her adoptive father or mother for all purposes with effect from the date of the adoption and from such date all the ties of the child in the family of his or her birth shall be deemed to be severed and replaced by those created by the adoption in the adoptive family…“.This provision was also discussed by the Supreme Court in the case of Namdev Vyankat Ghadge v Chandrakant Ganpat Ghadge, wherein it was held,.“It is plain and clear that an adopted child shall be deemed to be the child of his or her adopted father or mother for all purposes with effect from the date of adoption as is evident from the main part of Section 12.”.In light of the law laid down thus, Justice Ravichandrabaabu observed that,.“Though such adopted child, in the adoptive family, is not the child by biological creation…it should be born in mind that such adopted child is the child of the adoptive family by legal creation, which status certainly confers on such child all such rights as a biological child in the adoptive family.“.Therefore, the Court ruled that the government could not deny Soundarya her Legal Heirship certificate. The functions of the government in such matters only extended to verifying the genuineness of the adoption. It was held,.“…the respondent is not empowered to deny the same and refuse to issue the Legal Heirship Certificate to the second petitioner, as she is to be treated as the child of the deceased Chandrasekar for all purposes and consequently, she becomes the Class I heir of the deceased and thus, entitled to get her name also included in the Legal Heirship Certificate… .…In this case, the respondent has not doubted the genuineness of the documents produced by the petitioners in support of their claim including the deed of adoption. Therefore, there cannot be any legal impediment for the respondent in issuing a Legal Heirship Certificate to the petitioners, as sought for by them.“.Read Order: