Court orders man to donate sperm to estranged wife, who says no time for 2nd marriage

A family court in Maharashtra has granted a woman’s plea to have a second child with her estranged husband by directing him to donate his sperm for IVF, which could kick-start a debate over the gender question in reproductive rights.

The order of the Nanded court came two years after the husband sought divorce from the woman on the grounds of cruelty, while the wife has filed a complaint against him under Section 498A (cruelty by a husband or his relatives) of the IPC.

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1,300 children died in adoption homes in 5 years

The government informed Parliament on Friday that a total number of 1265 adopted kids died in India over the last 5 years.

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Man To Sue Parents For Giving Birth To Him Without Consent

The parent-child dynamic will always be a tricky one to manoeuvre; aside from the usual minefield of unwashed dishes, puberty-driven petulance and feeling misunderstood by your mum and dad, there’s a constant rumbling battle between a child who is fighting for autonomy and independence from the very people who gave them the life needed to do so.

But there’s a small but determined movement fighting the literal people power of parental procreation. In simple terms, those who support the child-free movement do not want you to have kids.

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UK-Based Couple Could Be Extradited to India, Face Trial for Adopted Son's Murder

Arti Dhir, 54, a British citizen born in Kenya, and Kanwaljit Raizada, 30, who came to the UK as a student from India and soon started living with Dhir, adopted a 12-year-old boy, Gopal Anjani from Gujarat, in July 2015. A month later, they took out an insurance cover for the child that would pay them Rs 1.3 crore in the event of his death.

On February 18, 2017, the young boy – who was travelling with his brother-in-law Harshukh Karadani – was attacked by masked goons who killed them both on a road outside Rajkot. It is alleged that the contract killers were to be paid Rs 5 lakh to kill the boy.

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Sherin Mathews death: Trial date of mother Sini Mathews postponed

The trial of Sini Mathews, the Indian-American adoptive mother of Sherin Mathews, the three-year-old who was found dead in a culvert in Dallas in October 2017, was postponed by a court in Dallas, USA, according to news organisation NBC DFW.

According to the report, the date of the trial is being pushed as new prosecutors are being assigned to the case. A new date has not been set yet. The bail amount for Sini may be reduced at a hearing to be held on Friday morning, reported Dallas News. Arrested in November 2017, Sini’s bail at the time was set for $250,000.

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Madhya Pradesh: Rescued ‘trafficked’ kids handed over for foster care to families who bought them illegally

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has taken cognizance of inter state child trafficking racket case that was busted a few months ago in Alirajpur. In its letter, the commission has stated that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding a multi- state child sale racket from its partner organization, Aawaj, working in Madhya Pradesh for child rights.

More >> Madhya Pradesh: Rescued ‘trafficked’ kids handed over for foster care to families who bought them illegally

Lapses by child welfare body blamed for sexual abuse of 13-yr-old girl by foster father in Assam

India’s apex agency for adoptions has faulted the child welfare committee (CWC) of Assam’s Cachar district for the continued sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl, allegedly at the hands of her foster father, a government employee.

CWCs are autonomous district-wise bodies mandated with overseeing the welfare of children in their jurisdiction.

More >> Lapses by child welfare body blamed for sexual abuse of 13-yr-old girl by foster father in Assam

Take action against foster parents involved in sexual abuse of girl in their care: Maneka Gandhi to Sarbananda Sonowal

Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has asked Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to immediately take action against foster parents involved in the alleged sexual abuse of a girl under their care. A 13-year-old girl was given for foster care to a couple in Silchar in Cachar district of Assam on May 9 by child care institution Nivedita Nari Sangstha (NNS). During the follow-up visit of the NNS officials , the girl complained of not being being comfortable with her foster parents, Gandhi said.

After three months, the child was surrendered back into the child care institution and when medical examination on the girl was conducted it was found that she was sexually abused over a period of three months by the male parent, she said. The NNS lodged a police complaint in September but no action has been taken so far, Gandhi said in a letter to Sonowal.

More >> Take action against foster parents involved in sexual abuse of girl in their care: Maneka Gandhi to Sarbananda Sonowal

Sexually abused by foster father for months, child awaits justice

A child care institution from Assam has approached central agencies for help in a shocking case of alleged sexual abuse of a child by her foster father.

Silchar-based Nivedita Naari Sansthan (NNS) has written to Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) under the Ministry of Women and Child Development among other agencies about their struggle to get justice for a child who was placed in foster care on May 9 this year and curiously returned by the family on August 30 after months of alleged sexual assault by the foster father.

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Child Abuse In Shelter Homes: Central Team Continues Inspection

A day after the Central team accused the Odisha Government of not following the guidelines on protection of children at shelter homes, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) continued its inspection in various Child Care Institutions (CCIs) across the State on Friday.

The NCPCR team along with officials of Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR), Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and Angul District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) carried out inspection at Adrut Children Home and Bajirout Chhatrabas in the district.

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In Kashmir, child abuse in orphanages is rampant

Six children’s schools-cum-orphanages have been closed in the Kashmir valley in the last few months owing to a lack of proper facilities. In Kashmir, these orphanages and seminaries are mostly run by religious people. The Juvenile Justice Act lays down some of the rules for the functioning of these orphanages and their inmates include juvenile delinquents, while some children come from single-parent families who send them to these homes for the free meals and education.

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Mother Teresa nuns back in India's adoption system

The Missionaries of Charity (MC) congregation has agreed to resume its service of giving children for adoption.

The congregation founded by St. Teresa of Kolkata, commonly known as Mother Teresa, discontinued giving babies from their orphanages for adoption in October 2015 after disagreeing with a new federal law that allowed single and divorced woman to adopt children.

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Government child helpline appears in pornographic content search results, lewd calls received

A government toll-free number for reporting child sexual assault cases has been suspended temporarily after it appeared in pornographic content search, and calls seeking sexual services were received, a senior NCPCR official has said.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights officer said an alternative number has been launched, even as the commission tries to put the suspended number back into operation.

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Illegal adoption rackets thrive, leave children in jeopardy

Childless couples, too impatient to adopt children legally, are turning to illegal means of adoption. But the process is not safe and can put the futures of both the child and parents at risk, rue activists and officials.   

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• Twenty-four children have been found missing 

Child trafficking in India: When children are bought and sold in the quest for a 'better life'

Babubhai* ran a unique matrimonial service out of a small shop in a busy Ahmedabad locality. He bought girls from Gujarat’s tribal areas and sold them as brides to rich Patel farmers. The ‘grooms’ were men who couldn’t find wives in their own communities because sex selective abortions over several generations had led to a severely skewed gender ratio. The few eligible women from the community didn’t wish to live on remote farms.

Babubhai was very proud of his ‘service’ – he didn’t think of it as trade. “I am saving them from poverty and starvation,” he’d say, of the girls involved in his transactions. “What sort of lives would they lead in their own tribal villages? Drunken husbands, more children. And I am giving these men healthy and obedient young wives. They are well worth their price.”

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44 children rescued from Chennai orphanage after child abuse allegations

The matter came to light when a few children complained to two city magistrates when they visited the orphanage for a legal awareness programme.

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Adoptions from India to resume despite trafficking concerns

The Australian government says India has improved its processes, but one anti-trafficking group says corruption is still rife in the country’s orphanages.

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The horror story inside an Indian children's home

"The sun rose very slowly for us every morning," a girl rescued from a shelter home in India's Bihar state told an investigator recently. She had cupped her hands together forming a small bowl shape and smiled wanly.

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Illegal adoptions on for years, probe thwarted earlier: Child panel

In a month of illegal adoptions surfacing at a childcare home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Ranchi, a probe carried out by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has revealed that illegal adoptions were being carried out by the trust since 2013.

More >> Illegal adoptions on for years, probe thwarted earlier: Child panel 

27 child adoption agencies shut over irregularities: Govt

A total of 27 specialised adoption agencies (SAAs) have been shut over irregularities by the country's apex adoption body CARA, the government said today.

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