Under the Act the Hindu females have also being given the right to adopt a child. They no longer require any authority to the effect from their deceased husbands, which was mandatory under the old law. Under the present Act an unmarried Hindu female also could adopt a child.
Image Source: assets.babycenter.com
According to Section 8 of the Act, a Hindu female could adopt a child only when the following conditions are fulfilled:—
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(1) She is of sound mind,
(2) She is not minor,
(3) She is not married, or
(4) If she is married her marriage has been dissolved, or
ADVERTISEMENTS:
(5) Her husband is dead, or
(6) Her husband has renounced the world finally and conclusively, or
(7) Her husband has become a convert, or
(8) Her husband has been declared to be of unsound mind by a court of competent jurisdiction.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
In this way we find that the powers of a Hindu female to adopt a child are limited because this right could be exercised only when she is unmarried or she has become a widow or in certain cases during the lifetime of her husband.
It has been held in Narinderjit Kaur v. Union of India and another} that adoption of a child under authority of parents is valid. Where a child was given in adoption willingly by natural parents and was taken in adoption by adoptive mother through her attorney, it was held to be a valid adoption. It was also held that subsequent marriage of adoptive mother does not invalidate the adoption.