Right to privacy of biological parents will override adopted child's right to search for his roots: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on Friday held that though an adopted child has the legal and constitutional to search for his "roots", the same would not override the right to privacy of his biological parents, especially an unmarried mother. .Single-judge Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya was dealing with a plea filed by a person who was adopted by a Swiss couple from an unmarried woman in 1988. Now an adult, the petitioner came to India in search of his roots and wanted to trace his biological mother who had given him up for adoption. However, the authorities refused to disclose the details of the biological mother. Noting the facts of the case, the Court said, "The right to root search, is implicit in the right of the petitioner to know himself and to live a life of dignity, an integral part of which is to know one's identity. Hence, the right to know the identity of one's biological parents is a part of the right to life as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the single-judge said in his order. Article 21 is applicable to foreigners and though the petitioner isn't residing in India, his roots lie in India and hence, right to life is applicable to him, the Court said. The judge, however, noted that Regulation 47(6) of the Adoption Regulations of 2022 provide that the right of an adopted child shall not infringe the right to privacy of biological parents. .In the present case, the Court noted that the only known parent of the petitioner was his biological mother who was unmarried at the relevant time period. Hence, her particulars were not available with the respondent authorities. The single-judge also observed that the Adoption Regulations stipulate that strict confidentiality shall be maintained in respect of all documents pertaining to biological parents in all circumstances unless the surrendering parents have expressed their willingness for divulging the same, provided that only the child shall have access to the surrender deed."However, the proviso to Regulation 7(20) which deals with giving access of the surrender deed to the child is subject to the bar of Regulation 47(6), which stipulates that right of an adopted child shall not infringe the right to privacy of the biological parents," the Court noted. Thus, it said that the modalities in the law point towards the confidentiality willed by the biological parents (more so for a single unwed mother) and it prevails over the right of the child to have access to the surrender deed or a root search. "Hence, the petitioner definitely has a legal as well as constitutional right to search out the particulars of his biological parents. However, such right is subject and subservient to the right of privacy of the adoptee's biological mother or parent," the Court held..As against the right to know one's roots the rights or privacy and protection of identity of the biological parents of an adopted are more fundamental and basic insofar as the said right protects the very survival of the biological parents.Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya.The right to know one's roots is definitely implicit in one's existence as a human being and quest and curiosity are the primary premises of human evolution and progress. However, as against the right to know one's roots, the right to privacy and protection of identity of the biological parents of the adopted are more fundamental and basic to the extent the said right protects the very survival of the biological parents, the single-judge underscored.It is all the more so when an unwed mother surrenders her child due to extreme social pressures, the Court opined."Subjecting the said mother to potential social ignominy and ostracisation might hit at the very root of her survival and may even lead her to take an extreme measure," the judgment said..In its order, the judge said that there is no reason to assume that the biological mother who was so compelled as to leave her child with an agency for being put up for adoption, would welcome the idea of being exposed to the scrutiny of society or even her child at an advanced age..Advocates Jhuma Sen, Trisha Saha, Arpita De and Dinesh Vishwakarma appeared for the petitioner. Advocates Pranit Bag, Sourav Chunder, Mandavi Choudhury, Rahul Karmakar, Sounak Mukherjee, Biswabrata Basu Mallick and Parna Roy Choudhury represented the authorities.