 the hindu adoptions and , maintenance (amendment) bill, 1962(as introduced in lok sabha on 20m june, 1962)  (amendment) bill, 1962 (as introduced in lok sabha)a bill further to amend the hindu adoptio11s and maintenance act, 1956 be it enacted by parliament in the thirteenth year of the republic of india as follows:-1 this act may be called the hindu adoptions and maintenllnce short title (amendment) act, 1962 ',8 of 1956 s 2 in section 2 of the hindu adoptions and maintenance act, 1956 amen~en' (hereinafter referred to as the principal act), in the explanation of aectiqd 3 to sub-section (1)-(a) in clause (b), the word "and" occurring at the end shall be omitted; 10 (b) after clause (b), the following clause shall be inserted namely:-"(bb) any child, legitimate i?r illegitimate, who has been abandoned both by his father and mother or whose parentage is not known and who in either case is brought is up as a hindu, buddhist, jaina or sikh; end" 3 in section 9 of the principal act,-amendment (a) in sub-section (2), for the words, brackets and figure of 8cction 9· "sub-section (3) ", the words, brackets and figures "sub-section (3) and sub-section (4)" shall be substituted;  973 (b) ls(b) for sub-section (4) the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:-"(4) where both the father and mother are dead or have completely qnd finally renounced the world or have abandoned the child or have been declared by a court of s competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind or where the parentage of the child is not known, the guardian of the child may give the child in adoption with the previous permission of the court to any person including the guardian himself,"; 10 (c) in the explanation-(i) in clause (i), the word "and" qt the end shall be omitted; (ii) after clause (i), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:-is - (ia) "guardian" means a person having the care of the person of a child or of both his person and property and includes-(a) a gueardian appointed by the will of the child's father or mother, and 20 ('b) a guardian appointed or declared by a court; and', under the hindu adop: icns and maintenance act, 1956, thea guardian of a child has been given the power to give the child in adoption with the previous permission of the court but this power can be exercised only by a testamentary guardian or a guardian appointed or declared by the court as specified in section 9 (4) of the act a person having the care and custody of a child has, however, no power to give the child in adoption although for all practical purposes he is the guardian of the child then again, there is no provision in the act authorising the adoption of a child abandoned by both of his parents or of a child whose parentage is not known children are sometimes abandoned -by their parents for fear of social opprobrium, for reasons of poverty and for other reasons if these children could be given in adoption, they might grow up in congenial home atmosphere as good citizens these abandoned children ljre very eften brought uip in foundling homes or other children's institutions the manager of such homes or institutions having the care and custody of these children is for all practical purposes their guardian and there is no reason as to why he should not have the power to give the child in adoption with the permission of the court like the testamentary gwardian or the guardian appointed or declared by the court it is, therefore, considered that this lacuna in the law should be removed by suitably amending section 9 (4) of the hindu adoptions and maintenance act, 1956, so as to bring a person having the care and custody of the child within the meljning of 'guardian' under section 10 of the act only a hindu can be adopted as the religion of an abandoned child or of a child whose parentage is not known cannot be ascertained, it is proposed to amend the explanation to section 2 (1) of the act to the effect that a child, legitimate or illegitimate, who hils 'been abandoned by both of his parents or whose parentage is not known ,but who in either case is brought up as a hindu will be a hindu by religion the bill is designed to give etfect to the above proposals new delhi; the 7th june, 1962 a k sen - - - - 2 (1)  - - - e:cplanation:-the following persons are hindus, buddhists, j ainu or sikhs by religion, as the case may be:-- '" - - (b) any child, legitimate or illegitillbte, one of whose parents is a hindu, buddhist, jaina or sikh by religion and who 15 brought up as a member of the trl,be, community, group or family to which such parent belongs or belonged; and • (1)           -                                 -                                                        -                                                                              - pei'iciiil' capable in iividin adoptions (2) subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), the father, if alive, shall alone have the right to give in adoption, but such right ihall not be exercised save with the consent of the mother unless the mother 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  '" - - - (4) where both the father and mother are dead or have completely and finally renounced the world or have been declared by e court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind, the guardian of a child (whether a testamentary guardian or a guardian appointed or declared by a court) may give the child in adoption with the previous permission of the court '" '" - - e:cplanation: -for the purposes of this section-(i) the expressions "father" and "mother" do not include an adoptive father and an adoptive mother; and a bill further to amend the hindu adoptions and maintenance act, 1956 (shri asoks k sen, minister oj lard) 