The Supreme Court has held that a biological mother giving her child up for adoption because of financial hardship cannot, by itself, be treated as evidence that the child was sold. The court directed that a two-year-old boy in Telangana be handed back to the couple recorded as his adoptive parents.
Court rejects presumption of child sale
The case involved a child whose biological mother, a single parent, had given him to a married couple shortly after his birth in April 2024. The Child Welfare Committee later took custody of the boy in February 2025 amid suspicion that the child had been sold.
The adoptive couple approached the courts after the Telangana High Court declined to release the child. The Supreme Court subsequently overturned that decision and ordered that custody be restored to the couple.
The bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Prasanna B Varale said financial constraints faced by the biological mother could not, without more evidence, establish that a sale had taken place.
Trafficking investigation remains separate
The Supreme Court made clear that its order concerning the child would not interfere with investigations into an alleged inter-state child trafficking network involving other children.
The ruling also highlights the importance of distinguishing legitimate adoption from trafficking or illegal transactions involving children. Indian adoption procedures require safeguards to ensure that children are not forcibly or coercively surrendered for monetary or other consideration.
The court’s order places the child’s welfare at the centre of the immediate custody dispute while allowing authorities to continue any wider investigation independently.