In Brief
Two Indian-origin residents of India, Ankur Gupta and Geetika Agarwal, applied in 2016 to adopt a child as resident Indians. After acquiring US citizenship in late 2016 and registering as overseas citizens of India, they were offered a child (Baby Shomya) in early 2018. The High Court allowed their writ petition, directing the authorities to consider their original application. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that acquiring US citizenship made them ineligible for in-country adoption. The Court upheld the statutory distinction between in-country and inter-country adoption regimes under the Juvenile Justice Act. However, it allowed the couple to adopt the child after the mandatory 60-day in-country placement period expired, as overseas citizens of India entitled to priority in inter-country adoption."
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