Section 42 in Andhra Pradesh Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2003
42. Surrender of Children.
(1)Only children who fall within the definition of "Child in need of care and protection" under Section 2(d) of the Act and in particular, children of unwed mothers, orphans and children of mentally or physically challenged persons, can be surrendered for the purposes of adoption under the Act.(2)The cases of surrender of children shall be strictly scrutinised. No document executed by the "surrendering parent" shall be accepted at its face value. Any person found guilty of offering any allurement whatsoever for surrendering a child shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to three years.(3)Not withstanding anything contained in any Rule or Guideline, no child shall be surrendered to a Private Agency for the purpose of adoption or guardianship. The surrender shall be made only to the Project Officers of the Department of Women Development and Child Welfare. Such surrendered children shall be placed in the Children's Homes or the State Government run Institutions for Orphans.(4)The Project Officers of the Department of Women Development and Child Welfare shall refer all cases of surrender to the Child Welfare Committee. The Child Welfare Committee shall examine all cases of surrender of a child and ascertain whether the surrender is genuine. The Child Welfare Committee shall counsel the parent of the consequences of surrendering the child and the importance of the biological parent for the Development of the child. If both parents are living, the surrender shall be by both the parents. In the case of orphans, the guardian of the child, as recognised by the Child Welfare Committee, can surrender the child. The Child Welfare Committee shall give two months time for parents/ guardians to reconsider their decision to surrender the child.(5)The enquiry by the Child Welfare Committee on the genuineness of the surrender shall be made as expeditiously as possible but not later than three months from the date of the application for surrender of the child.(6)The surrender of the child shall be valid only after an appropriate order is passed by the Child Welfare Committee.
