Telangana HC Tells Police To Restore Child to Adoptive Parents

Hyderabad: Justice T. Madhavi Devi of the Telangana High Court directed the child welfare department and police authorities to restore custody of a minor child to adoptive parents, holding that continued separation was not in the best interest of the child and that the case was covered by binding directions of the Supreme Court in a batch of similar matters. The judge was hearing a writ plea filed by a couple challenging an order passed by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in December 2024, declaring their adopted son legally free for adoption despite the pendency of their application before the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and earlier directions of a division bench of the High Court. The petitioners contended that the child, taken into adoption soon after birth, was taken from their custody in May 2024 by the police and child welfare authorities on the ground that the adoption was not processed in accordance with the Juvenile Justice Act and CARA guidelines, and on allegations of exchange of money. The child was placed under the care of the CWC. The matter stemmed from a batch of writ pleas in which a single judge held that the action of the authorities was without authority of law. In appeals, a division bench observed that the statutory procedure for declaring a child legally free for adoption was not followed and directed the competent authority to decide the adoption applications within a stipulated time, making custody subject to the outcome. The petitioners alleged that despite these directions, the CWC proceeded to pass the impugned order without deciding their pending CARA application. The state opposed the plea alleging violation of guidelines and exchange of money, while conceding that there were no allegations of ill-treatment or abuse of the child. Placing reliance on Supreme Court decisions restoring custody to adoptive parents in similar cases on the principle of bonding and the best interest of the child, the judge held that the present case stood on the same footing. Accordingly, the judge directed the authorities to hand over custody of the child to the petitioners within one week, subject to safeguards imposed by the Supreme Court, including periodic monitoring of the child’s welfare by the Legal Services Authorities.

Conditional bail for murder accused

The Telangana High Court granted bail to an accused in a murder case registered by Gummadidala police of Sangareddy district. The judge was hearing a criminal petition filed by Chalimamidi Mahesh Reddy, seeking bail in a case registered for offences relating to criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, murder and criminal intimidation. According to the prosecution, the husband of the de facto complainant, who was residing in Mumbai and was engaged in online trading, went missing after seeking money from her and was later found murdered, with the body allegedly disposed of in the Krishna river backwaters. The petitioner was arrayed as Accused No.1 in the case, primarily on the basis of the alleged confession of the co-accused, with no specific overt act attributed to him except travelling along with other accused. Counsel for the petitioner contended that the petitioner was falsely implicated, that no independent material connected him with the alleged offence, and that several other accused were already enlarged on bail. It was contended that the petitioner was in judicial custody since November and that the material part of the investigation stood completed. Taking into account the period of incarceration and the stage of investigation, the judge deemed it fit to enlarge the petitioner on conditional bail.