Section 7 of Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956: Capacity of a Male Hindu to Adopt
Section 7 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 explains when a male Hindu has legal capacity to take a son or daughter in adoption and when the consent of his wife or wives is required.
- A male Hindu must be of sound mind.
- He must not be a minor. Under Section 3(c), a minor is a person who has not completed 18 years of age.
- If he has a wife living, her consent is ordinarily required.
- The wife's consent is not required if a statutory exception in Section 7 applies.
- If more than one wife is living, consent of all living wives is ordinarily necessary, subject to the same statutory exceptions.
- Section 7 does not operate alone. The other requirements of Chapter II must also be satisfied for a valid adoption.
Text of Section 7
7. Capacity of a male Hindu to take in adoption. Any male Hindu who is of sound mind and is not a minor has the capacity to take a son or a daughter in adoption:
Provided that, if he has a wife living, he shall not adopt except with the consent of his wife unless the wife has completely and finally renounced the world or has ceased to be a Hindu or has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind.
Explanation. If a person has more than one wife living at the time of adoption, the consent of all the wives is necessary unless the consent of any one of them is unnecessary for any of the reasons specified in the preceding proviso.
What Section 7 means
Section 7 deals with the capacity and right of a male Hindu to adopt. The basic personal qualifications are that he must be of sound mind and must not be a minor. Section 3(c) of the Act defines a "minor" as a person who has not completed the age of eighteen years.
Where the male Hindu has a wife living, Section 7 adds another requirement: he cannot adopt without her consent unless one of the specific exceptions stated in the proviso applies. This requirement is part of the statutory scheme governing the validity of Hindu adoptions.
When is the wife's consent not required?
The proviso to Section 7 identifies three situations in which the consent of a living wife is unnecessary:
- she has completely and finally renounced the world;
- she has ceased to be a Hindu; or
- she has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind.
Important: These are statutory exceptions. The facts of a particular adoption should be tested against the exact language of the Act and applicable judicial decisions.
What if the adoptive male has more than one wife?
The Explanation to Section 7 provides that where a person has more than one wife living at the time of adoption, the consent of all the wives is necessary. Consent of a particular wife is unnecessary only if one of the exceptions in the proviso applies to her.
Section 7 is only one requirement for a valid adoption
Capacity under Section 7 by itself does not make an adoption valid. Section 6 requires compliance with the other requirements in Chapter II. Depending on the facts, Sections 9, 10 and 11 may also be directly relevant.
| Provision | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Section 6 | Sets out the requisites of a valid adoption, including capacity of the adopter and compliance with Chapter II. |
| Section 9 | Deals with persons who are legally capable of giving a child in adoption. |
| Section 10 | States who may legally be taken in adoption. |
| Section 11 | Contains additional conditions for a valid adoption, including restrictions based on existing children and the 21-year age-gap rule in specified opposite-sex adoptions. |
| Section 16 | Deals with the statutory presumption relating to certain registered documents recording an adoption. |
Example
If an adult male Hindu of sound mind has a wife living, Section 7 ordinarily requires her consent before he adopts. If he proposes to adopt a daughter, the adoption must also satisfy Section 11, including the applicable requirement that the adoptive father be at least twenty-one years older than the person to be adopted.
Frequently asked questions
Can a male Hindu adopt a daughter?
Yes. Section 7 expressly gives a male Hindu who satisfies its capacity requirements the capacity to take a son or a daughter in adoption. Other requirements of Chapter II must also be fulfilled.
What is the minimum age for a male Hindu to have capacity under Section 7?
Section 7 requires that he must not be a minor. Section 3(c) defines a minor as a person who has not completed eighteen years of age.
Is the consent of a living wife always required?
Consent is ordinarily required, but Section 7 itself provides exceptions where the wife has completely and finally renounced the world, has ceased to be a Hindu, or has been declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind.
Does compliance with Section 7 alone make the adoption valid?
No. The adoption must comply with the other applicable provisions of Chapter II, including the requisites in Section 6 and the relevant conditions in Sections 9, 10 and 11.
This page is a general legal information resource. For a disputed adoption, succession issue, registration question or court proceeding, the facts and the current law applicable to the particular case should be examined independently.