The Bombay high court (HC) approved an adoption petition filed by a 66-year-old man, Mathew Inacio Abreo, who wanted to legally adopt a 22-year-old woman, Malaica Abreo, who was previously raised by Mathew and his wife.
Rakesh Kapoor, the advocate appearing for the petitioner informed the court that the HC through an order dated 11 March 1998, granted guardianship of a girl, born in June 1997, to the petitioner and his wife Dora. After the end of their guardianship (i.e. when the girl became an adult), she continued living with the petitioner and his wife as their daughter.
The petitioner also submitted that his wife Dora had expired in 2018 while he has been diagnosed with cancer. He further pleaded that the woman is a member of the family and shall be allowed to be legally adopted, for her to confer the legal status of being his daughter and to lead her life with dignity and confidence.
The scrutiny officer of the Indian Council for Social Welfare in its report stated that the woman was well-integrated into the family which was further confirmed by a social worker.
Following these observations, the bench of Justice GS Kulkarni allowed the petition and declared the Petitioner, Mathew Inacio Abreo as the adoptive parent of the woman. The court further stated the adoptive father to apply before the concerned Municipal Authorities to issue a Birth Certificate of Malaica Maria Abreo showing the petitioner and his late wife as the woman’s parents.
