The Calcutta High Court has ordered national adoption authorities to grant top priority to an aging couple who missed a strict 48-hour response window due to unresolved questions about a child’s medical condition. The ruling preserves the couple’s eligibility, which was at risk due to strict statutory age limits for adoptive parents in India.
In an order issued on July 13, Justice Krishna Rao set aside a decision by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to close the couple’s grievance file. The court ruled that because the couple’s delay did not constitute a refusal to adopt, their Home Study Report remains valid. Under the court’s direction, the couple must be treated as first in seniority for the next available eligible child referred by a Specialised Adoption Agency. Once the new referral is made, the couple will have 48 hours to record their consent.
The legal dispute arose after the couple, who first registered on the CARA portal in January 2020, received a referral in December 2025 for a five-year-old girl. It was the couple’s third referral. However, accompanying medical records from Kolkata Medical College and Hospital indicated the child had been unable to speak since birth and relied entirely on gestures to communicate.
Unanswered Queries and Missed Deadline
According to the couple’s legal counsel, Deepan Kumar Sarkar, the medical findings placed the child in the special needs category. Seeking clarification, the couple contacted CARA and the State Adoption Resource Authority to request a chief medical officer’s report, as permitted under the Adoption Regulations, 2022.
Despite sending multiple emails before the 48-hour reservation period was set to expire on December 25, 2025, the couple received no response from the authorities. Because of the unresolved confusion regarding the medical documents, the couple did not record their consent within the deadline. Consequently, CARA closed their grievance file and offered the child to another family.
Age Limits and Court Intervention
Representing the adoption authorities, Advocate Siddartha Lahiri argued that the couple’s failure to consent within the mandatory 48 hours justified passing the referral to the next eligible household. Lahiri informed the court that the child in question has since been adopted by another couple, and suggested that the petitioners file an entirely new application if they still wished to adopt.
However, the petitioners’ counsel argued that forcing the couple to submit a new application would effectively end their hopes of parenting. Under national adoption regulations, prospective parents face strict upper age limits. As of January 12, 2026, the couple’s combined age was 108 years—just two years shy of the maximum permissible combined age limit of 110 years. Restarting the multi-year application cycle would have pushed them past the eligibility threshold.
Justice Rao accepted the petitioners’ arguments, noting that the delay was a direct result of confusion over the medical files rather than an unwillingness to adopt. By allowing the couple to immediately revalidate their Home Study Report and securing their place at the top of the seniority list, the court has preserved their final opportunity to complete an adoption.
