HC directs Muslim man to return boy to his mother

Madurai: Rejecting the claim of a Muslim that he had adopted a Hindu boy as his son, the Madras High Court directed him to handover the boy to his mother.   

"There is no concept of adoption known to Muslim Law", a division bench comprising Justice N Paul Vasantha Kumar and Justice P Devadass said allowing a Habeas Corpus Petition filed by S Mala, mother of the boy Giridharan, to return the boy to her.

The judges said the contention of Shaik Dawood claiming the right over Giridharan was unsustainable as he was a Muslim and the petitioner (who denied execution of an adoption deed) was a Hindu."It is a well settled proposition of law that creating a relationship of parentage by adoption was unknown to Mohammedan law as it was forbidden by the Quran. Besides the
Hindu adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956 permitted adoption by a Hindu alone, the judges said.

Mala, in her petitioner submitted that she had left her son under the care of Dawood in a children's home run by him and was paying Rs 1000 for maintaining him in the home at Sangiliayandavarpuram in Tiruchi district.


She said later when she had gone to the home to pick her son, it was found that Dawood had shifted her son to some other place and refused to give her son back. He also "threatened" her of dire consquence if she insisted on getting her son back, the petitioner said.  

Advertisement

Mala said though she had filed a complaint to police no action was taken by them.

Dawood said in the court that Mala had given Giridharan in adoption to him. However, she said she had not signed in any adoption deed.
 

Advertisement