Uncle-In-Law Cannot Adopt Niece's Husband as 'Ghar Damad'

Source: Supreme Court

Why in News?

A bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, in Bejla Oraon v. Kali Das Oraon & Ors. (2026), held that an uncle-in-law cannot validly induct his niece's husband as a ghar damad under Oraon customary law, and set aside the concurrent findings of three courts below that had upheld such an arrangement. 

What was the Background of  Bejla Oraon v. Kali Das Oraon & Ors. (2026) Case? 

• The dispute concerned ancestral property belonging to Sukhu Oraon, who had three sons — Dhungru, Ledura, and Bhoula. 
• Ledura died without children, while Bhoula died leaving behind a daughter, Budhain. 
• The plaintiff, Bejla Oraon, son of Dhungru, claimed that as the nearest male agnate, he inherited the property after the deaths of Ledura and Bhoula. 
• The defendants contended that Budhain's husband, Punai, had been taken as ghar damad by Ledura and was therefore entitled to succeed to the property, relying on a document dated February 27, 1975, described as a partition deed. 
• The trial court dismissed the suit after accepting the defendants' plea regarding the validity of the ghar damad arrangement, and the first appellate court affirmed the decree. 
• The Jharkhand High Court dismissed the second appeal despite framing a substantial question of law on whether an uncle-in-law was entitled under Oraon customary law to keep a ghardamad. 
• Aggrieved, the plaintiff approached the Supreme Court. 

What were the Court's Observations? 

• On the plaintiff's contention: The plaintiff contended that the courts below had erred in upholding the ghardamad arrangement despite the absence of any customary practice on record permitting such induction by an uncle-in-law, and that upon the deaths of Ledura and Bhoula, he alone, as the nearest male agnate, was entitled to inherit the property. 
• On the failure to establish the custom: The Court found force in the plaintiff's contention and held that the defendants had failed to establish that the alleged ghar damad arrangement satisfied the requirements of the applicable custom. 
• On the scope of the ghar damad institution: While the existence of the institution of ghardamad in Oraon customary law was not in dispute, the Court emphasised that the facts of the present case did not fit within that custom. 
• On who may induct a ghar damad: Relying on S.C. Roy's authoritative work, The Oraon of Chotanagpur, the Court noted that a ghar damad could acquire succession rights only when he was adopted into the household by the last male owner or his widow. In the present case, Punai had allegedly been inducted by Ledura, who was merely the uncle of Budhain and not her father. 
• On the resulting right of succession: The Court held that in the absence of a ghardamad validly inducted by the last male owner or his widow, or any other male heir directly related to the landowner, the nearest male agnate would have the right in the property. Accordingly, the judgments of the courts below were set aside, and the plaintiff's suit was decreed. 
• On relief granted: The appeal was allowed, and the property was held to devolve upon the plaintiff as the nearest male agnate. 

What is the Custom of Ghar Damad Among the Oraon Tribe? 

Ghar Damad Under Oraon Customary Law: 

• A ghar damad refers to a resident son-in-law who is taken into the household of his wife's family, in the absence of male heirs, and may under custom acquire rights of succession to the family property. 
• Succession rights accrue to a ghar damad only where he has been adopted into the household by the last male owner of the property or, in his absence, by his widow. 
• Induction by a collateral relative, such as an uncle, who is not the last male owner or his widow, does not satisfy the requirements of the custom and does not confer succession rights on the person so inducted. 
• In the absence of a validly inducted ghardamad or any other male heir directly related to the landowner, the right to succeed to the property vests in the nearest male agnate of the family. 

What is Adoption under Hindu Law? 

Statute – The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA) 

About: 

• HAMA, 1956 was enacted as part of the Hindu Code Bill to codify and standardise Hindu law on adoption. 
• It is the first enactment on the subject of adoption passed by Parliament. 
• It applies to Hindus within Indian territory, and to Hindus domiciled in India even while residing outside it. It has no operation beyond Indian territories otherwise. 
• Adoption means the process by which a child is permanently separated from his/her biological parents and becomes the lawful child of the adoptive parents, with all attendant rights, privileges, and responsibilities. 

Section 6 – Requisites for a Valid Adoption: 

• The adopter must have the capacity and right to adopt. 
• The person giving the child in adoption must have the capacity to give. 
• The child being adopted must be capable of being taken in adoption. 
• The adoption must conform to all other conditions prescribed under the Act. 

Section 7 – Capacity of a Hindu Male to Adopt: 

• Must be a major and of sound mind. 
• Consent of the wife is mandatory for a valid adoption; adoption without such consent is void. 
• Must be at least 21 years older than the girl, where adopting a daughter. 
• Krishna Chandra Sahu v. Pradeep Das (1982) – Orissa High Court held that the wife's consent is mandatory for a valid adoption. 

Section 8 – Capacity of a Hindu Female to Adopt: 

• Must be of legal age and sound mind. 
• Must be unmarried, or if married, must have the husband's full consent. 
• No consent of the husband is required if he is of unsound mind, has renounced the world, has ceased to be a Hindu, or the marriage has been dissolved. 
• Must be at least 21 years older than the boy, where adopting a son. 

Section 9 – Capacity to Give a Child in Adoption: 

• Father – Has the right to give the child in adoption if alive, but cannot do so without the mother's consent, unless she has renounced the world, ceased to be a Hindu, or been declared of unsound mind by a competent court. 
• Mother – May give the child in adoption if the father is dead, has renounced the world, has ceased to be a Hindu, or has been declared of unsound mind by a competent court. 
• Guardian – Where both parents are dead, parentage is unknown, or the child has been abandoned, the guardian may give the child in adoption with prior court permission, subject to the court being satisfied that the adoption serves the child's welfare. 
• Smt. Prafulla Bala Mukherjee v. Satish Chandra Mukherjee (1998) – Held that a valid adoption requires that the adopter be capable of lawfully taking in adoption, the giver be capable of lawfully giving in adoption, and the child be capable of being lawfully adopted; all three conditions must be satisfied cumulatively. 

Section 10 – Who May Be Adopted: 

• The child must be a Hindu. 
• The child must not have been adopted previously. 
• The child must be unmarried, unless a contrary custom permits otherwise. 
• The child must be below 15 years of age, unless a contrary custom permits otherwise. 

Section 16 – Registration of Adoption: 

• Provides for registration of the adoption with the Registrar of documents. 
• A registered instrument signed by both parties serves as evidence of adoption, though not conclusive proof. 

Section 17 – Prohibition on Payments in Adoption: 

• Prohibits the exchange of money or reward for giving or taking a child in adoption, to curb trafficking risks such as child labour, prostitution, theft, and misuse for property gain. 
• Contravention is punishable with imprisonment up to six months, or fine, or both. 

Irrevocability of Adoption: 

• A valid adoption cannot be cancelled by the adoptive parents. 
• The adopted child has no right to renounce the adoption and return to the biological family once the adoption is properly completed. 

Effects of a Valid Adoption: 

• The adopted child is deemed the natural-born child of the adoptive parents. 
• All ties with the biological family stand severed from the date of adoption. 
• The child remains barred from marrying any person he/she could not have married prior to adoption. 
• Property already vested in the child prior to adoption continues to vest in the child, subject to attendant obligations. 
• The adopted child does not divest any member of the adoptive family of an estate already vested in them prior to the adoption.