July 18,2018:
Government is set to bring an Amendment to Juvenile Justice Act for making District Magistrate as Competent Officer for approving adoptions, instead of Civil Courts.
Proposal is likely to be put up before Cabinet on Wednesday.
Ministry has stated that this shift is an attempt to prevent long delays in Courts and expedite Adoption.
Maneka Gandhi, Minister, Women and Child Development stated that,“We are bringing in an amendment to the JJ Act for making district magistrate/ collector as the competent officer for approving adoptions, instead of court".
She further added that it was felt that Civil Courts were already burdened with a vast case load and often matters like Adoption keep getting delayed.
Officials pointed out that there are cases pending for years even though there is a stipulated time frame for adoption.
It is also felt that since District Magistrate is In-charge of a District and has access to all the Departments it may be easier for the person on the post to seek documents or verify facts on the ground faster. Gandhi has asked states to get all childcare institutions registered with the Central Adoption Resources Agency.
On Monday, she had directed State Governments to inspect all Childcare homes run by Mother Teresa-founded Missionaries of Charity.
Source TOI
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