BHOPAL: It’s good news for a young bachelor from Indore, who can adopt a child of his choosing at last.

28-year-old Aditya Tiwari, who works for an MNC in Pune, has been trying to adopt 16-month-old Binney from September 2014. He had to fight with authorities for the child suffering from Down’s syndrome and a hole in his heart.

Fighting for his adoption of a toddler suffering for a over year has paid finally off, thanks tor a nudge from Union minister Maneka Gandhi last week.

It’s the first time in Bhopal when a single male has been able to adopt a child, after change in adoption guidelines for single parent from August 1. The minimum age in case of a single male wishing to adopt a child has been brought down to 25.

Ms Gandhi visited Matrachhaya, an adoption agency, where she instructed authorities to hand over child to him in a week. Binney is currently in Matrachhaya.

The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) finally allotted the child to Aditya on their website on Monday. Now, he has to appear before Matrachhaya committee one last time before he gets the child.

The CARA website shows that Aditya’s registration under new norms was accepted on August 3, followed by home study on August 11 and submission of report two days later. Once, he passed the home study stage, child referral/matching was done and Aditya was Prospective Adoptive Parent (PAP) on Monday.

Before August this year, adoption rules came in Aditya’s way and authorities told him to wait till he turned 30. He didn’t give up hope and moved several authorities, includingthe President, Prime Minister, WCD minister and state government. He wanted to move the Madhya Pradesh High court for a stay on the child for at least two years.

“If actresses like Sushmita Sen and Raveena Tandon can adopt children at 25 and 21 years of age, why can’t a middle class person do so? Besides, there is precedence of three single men seeking custody of child from the court and I will do so too,” Aditya vowed this June.

It all began with a chance visit to an orphanage Missionaries of Charity, Indore, on September 13 last year. He had gone there to distribute sweets. “Adoption was my childhood dream. When I saw Binney, I made up my mind that I wanted to adopt him.” The kid was given up by his well-to-do parents, who couldn’t bear the thought of having a special child.

Aditya bears all his expenses, which come to Rs 10,000 per month, for the time being.

He complained against the Missionaries of Charity as they had not followed proper procedures while taking in Binney. After Aditya’s complaint, the child was shifted to Matrachhaya, Bhopal.

Fresh norms on adoption

New guidelines on adoption of children covered under new Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014

According to chapter 1, 5 (2) of draft guidelines, “Any Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAP), irrespective of his marital status and whether or not he has his own biological son or daughter, can adopt a child. However, a single male person is not eligible to adopt a girl child.”

Besides, 5 (7) states: “The minimum age difference between the child and either of PAPs should not be less than 25 years.” Previously, in case, a single PAP desired to adopt, he or she should not have been less than 30 years of age and shall not be above age of 50 years.

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