Parents Of 2 Disabled Children Can Adopt Third Child, Rules Bombay HC

The couple, who became parents in 2014 and 2019 to two children covered under the Persons with Disabilities Act, approached the court after CARA refused their request to adopt a third child – this time, a child without disabilities. CARA cited a 2023 guideline issued under the revised Adoption Regulations of 2022, which restrict couples with two existing biological children to adopting only “special needs" or “hard-to-place" children.

In their plea, the couple argued that this interpretation was unfair and ignored the timing of their application, which was submitted on September 10, 2022, just days before the new rules took effect on September 22. They contended that under the 2017 rules, their application should have been processed, especially since their home study report had already been completed by the date of submission.

The High Court sided with the couple, saying that the rules should not be used to stifle the natural human desire to build a meaningful and balanced family life. “If they are seeking new hope and optimism with the ability to add a new member to their family and by doing so achieve mutual satisfaction to make life more meaningful, then there is nothing wrong in it," the bench stated.

The judgment went further to criticise CARA’s inflexible application of the law, stating that a statutory order could never justifiably bar a couple, simply because they already have children with disabilities, from adopting a child without one. “There are powers under the 2022 adoption regulations to ‘relax’ provisions in ‘special circumstances’. This case squarely falls into that category," the court observed.

The ruling urged that adoption frameworks be applied holistically, with sensitivity to individual family circumstances rather than mechanical enforcement.

Delving deeper into the emotional and philosophical dimensions of parenthood, the court remarked that human life is a tapestry of aspirations and challenges. “Deeply satisfying relationships with children contribute to making life meaningful," the bench noted, adding that it is natural for parents of children with disabilities to seek the joy and experience of raising a non-disabled child, without diminishing the love and care they hold for their existing children.

Referring to the CARA decision as guided by “past thoughts", the bench stressed the need for regulatory bodies to move beyond rigid norms and recognise the evolving fabric of family and human emotion. The couple had, in fact, re-engaged with CARA in September 2024 seeking exemption, but received no response before their plea was ultimately rejected. Frustrated, they took the legal route in 2025, leading to this week’s decision.

CARA will now have six weeks to reconsider the couple’s application, taking into account the High Court’s directive and the broader humane context of the case.