Child Welfare Committee Cannot Declare Biological Parents Incapacitated Without Inquiry Or Hearing: Calcutta High Court

"Committee failed to take note of the portion of the order wherein the Court has directed the CWC to decide the prayer of the petitioner for return of child in accordance with law, at the appropriate stage." Calcutta High Court, in a significant ruling, held that a Child Welfare Committee cannot declare biological parents incapacitated or mark a newborn as an abandoned child without conducting a proper social inquiry or granting an opportunity of hearing.

A bench of Justice Krishna Rao observed that statutory mandates under child protection laws cannot be bypassed through hasty administrative decisions that ignore police investigation findings establishing the parentage and clearing the biological mother of wrongdoing.

The case arose after a newborn infant was rescued from a drain with injuries on March 23, 2024, and taken to a hospital by local police and Ritam Das, who claimed to be the biological father. The petitioner, Asmita Poddar, subsequently reached the hospital and asserted she was the biological mother, stating she gave birth at her residence following a secret marriage. Amid conflicting claims, the Child Welfare Committee took charge of the infant, placed him in a Specialized Adoption Agency, and later initiated a criminal complaint that led to an FIR against the mother under Section 308 and Section 34 of the IPC, while ultimately declaring the child legally free for adoption.

The primary question before the court was whether the Child Welfare Committee's decision declaring the parents incapacitated and routing the child for adoption was sustainable in law. The court was also called upon to determine whether procedural safeguards under juvenile and adoption statutes were violated by failing to conduct a social investigation or grant a hearing to the biological claimants.

CWC Ignored DNA Evidence And Police Findings

The court noted that despite directions issued in earlier writ proceedings, the Child Welfare Committee failed to provide any opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. Central Forensic Science Laboratory DNA reports conclusively established that the petitioner and Ritam Das were the biological mother and father of the child. Furthermore, a police investigation revealed that the infant had been dropped by the maternal grandmother—who subsequently passed away—rather than the petitioner, leading police to file a final report discharging the petitioner of any criminal culpability.

Statutory Bar On Criminal FIRs Against Biological Parents

"No first information report shall be registered against any biological parent in the process of inquiry relating to an abandoned or surrendered child."

Emphasizing the statutory safeguards under Section 38 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the court pointed out that the second proviso explicitly prohibits the registration of an FIR against biological parents during an abandonment inquiry. The bench observed that instead of conducting a fair inquiry to trace guardians, the Chairperson of the Committee acted hastily by lodging a criminal complaint against the biological mother who was desperately seeking custody of her child.

Lack Of Social Investigation And Due Process

"Before declaring the parents of the child incapacitated, the Committee has not followed the due process of law and in a casual manner has passed the impugned order."

The court highlighted that the Committee failed to obtain a mandatory social investigation report or examine the mental health, financial stability, and living environment of the biological parents. The bench noted that although the paramount consideration remains the welfare of the child, the mechanical labeling of fit biological parents as "incapacitated" merely because an infant was found injured—when the actual offender was another family member who had since deceased—vitiates the entire administrative action.

Adoptive Parents Directed To Surrender Child For Fresh Inquiry

Concluding that the impugned order dated November 18, 2024, was entirely arbitrary and illegal, the High Court set aside the decision along with all subsequent adoption proceedings. The court directed the adoptive parents to surrender the child to the Child Welfare Committee by August 7, 2026, and ordered the Committee to conduct a fresh inquiry within four weeks after granting a full hearing to the biological parents and reviewing the police investigation reports.

The Calcutta High Court has reinforced the principle that administrative bodies exercising parens patriae jurisdiction must strictly adhere to statutory inquiry mandates, ensuring that biological parentage confirmed by DNA evidence is not overridden by hasty declarations of abandonment.

Date of Decision: 06 August 2026