Supreme Court gives Muslims right to adopt a child // All India Muslim Personal Law Board protests against the PIL

By Dilip -
The Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement that is certain to resurrect the debate on the adoption of the uniform civil code, has ruled that the Muslim personal law will not come in the way of a community-member's right to adopt a child. "Persons of any faith can adopt a child under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. The Act will prevail till uniform civil code is achieved, and the Muslim personal law will not stand in the way of such adoption," a bench led by Chief Justice P Sathasivam observed yesterday in its judgement on a petition filed by civil rights activist Shabnam Hashmi.

Mrs Hashmi had, for the past 8 years, waged a dogged battle in the top court to be legally recognised as the parent of her adopted daughter, Seher Hashmi Raza. The human rights activist took Ms Raza under her custody way back in 1996, when she was just one year old. She had been abandoned by her biological parents at an adoption home in the capital. "This means that my daughter finally has legal rights... uptil now, she was called my ward... and I was her guardian... this is a very emotional moment for us," Mrs Hashmi told NDTV after the Supreme Court judgement. The adoption laws prevailing before the pathbreaking judgement allowed only Hindus, Sikhs and Jains planning to adopt a child to be legally recognised as a parent. Parents of other faiths were accorded that status of a guardian & their adopted children described as wards. 
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/when-it-comes-to-adoption-religion-no-bar-supreme-court-485800?curl=1393047826

 All India Muslim Personal Law Board protests against the PIL
Terming the JJ Act a "small step towards formation of a uniform civil code", the court said: "A person is always free to adopt or choose not to do so and, instead, he follows dictates of the personal law. To us, the JJ Act is a small step in reaching the goal enshrined by Article 44 of the Constitution which prescribes a uniform civil code." 

 The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had registered its protest against the PIL, terming it a covert attempt to slip in a uniform code by the backdoor which would infringe the Shariat law. "We have our own personal law and no step should be taken to covertly formulate a uniform adoption code without taking into account our stand on the issue," AIMPLB had said before the apex court.

 NB: for decades now, the clerics organised as the AIMPLB have assumed the role of proprietors of Muslim beliefs and conduct. They object even to the citizens' right to choose between a religious code & a code such as the Juvenile Justice Care & Protection of Children Act; (or the Special Marriage Act). In effect they are denying Indian Muslims the basic human right of choosing an ethical code for themselves, if such a choice is available. This is tyranny in the name of religion, and another term for it is communalism. This attitude has already caused immense harm to the polity. The hallmark of communal politics is the habit of treating all members of any community, their customs & behaviour - even the books they may or may not read - as the property of some self-appointed guardians of 'religion' and/or 'culture'. It is up to courageous individuals like Hashmi to challenge this autocratic stance and stand up for democratic liberties against the communalists - DS

 NEW DELHI: In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has given Muslims the right to adopt a child despite their personal law prohibiting it. The apex court said on Wednesday that the laws of land has to get primacy over personal law till the country achieves Uniform Civil Code as provided in Article 44 of the Constitution.  The SC bench said the right to adoption is conferred by a law and operation of this cannot be stultified by a personal law dictate. The SC judgment comes on an 8 years old petition by Shabnam Hashmi who had approached the apex court after being refused permission to adopt.  Though the SC said all individuals have a statutory right to adopt a child, it said the time is not ripe to declare the right to adopt a fundamental right. 
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Supreme-Court-gives-Muslims-right-to-adopt-a-child/articleshow/30662143.cms

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