R was female assigned at birth when she was born but later, it was realized that she was a transperson, after which she solemnized her marriage with a male in December 2000. The couple brought forward their petition as they were not allowed to adopt a child as they did not possess a marriage certificate.

They applied for a marriage certificate under Hindu Marriage Act. However, the marriage of transperson cannot be registered under the Hindu Marriage Act because of which they were refused the said certificate, in consequence of which they could not adopt a child. As a result, they filed a petition with the High Court, requesting that the Sub-Registrar register their marriage so that they might adopt a child.

The Allahabad High Court Bench comprising of Justice Vivek Varma and Justice Dr. Kaushal Jayendra Thaker gave a landmark opinion stating that for adopting a child under the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act of 1956; even a single parent can adopt a child. The High Court directed the Sub-registrar to pass a detailed order for their Online Application dated 3rd December 2021 for the marriage registration.

The Court iterated that, “For adopting a child, marriage is not sine-quo-non as per Section 7 (capacity of male Hindu to take in adoption and Section 8(Capacity of female to take in adoption) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1956 do not a require and or registration of marriage. “

– Written by Vaishali Jain & Hamda Arfeen