Mark solar, Jan C and Barbara have opined: "Adoption is a Legal procedure which permanently terminates the legal relationship between the child and his biological parents and initiates a new parent child relationship."

Case: Inder singh V Kartar singh
High Court has expressed the meaning and purpose of adoption in following words

adoption under Hindu law is the addition of the stranger by birth to the privileges of a child by a legally recognised form of affiliation and contemplation of Hindu law and adopted child is deemed to be forgotten by the father who adopt him or for and on the behalf of whom he is adopted.

Objects of adoption

• To secure the performance of funeral rites of the person to whom the adoption is made and
• To preserve the continuance of his lineage.
   

The main object of adoption under Hindu law seems to be to secures spiritual benefits for the adopter and though its secondary object is to secure an higher to perpetuate an adopter's name.

The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act,1956 deals with the provisions related to Adoption.

Requisites Of A Valid Adoption
Section 6 of Hindu adoption and maintenance act deals with the requisites of a valid adoption. These conditions are mandatory and not recommendatory. They are given below:

• The person adopting has the capacity and also the right to take in adoption;
• The person given in adoption has the capacity to do so;
• The person adopted is capable of being taken in adoption;
• The adoption is made in compliance with the other conditions mentioned in chapter two of this Act.

Each of the above requisites is discussed below in greater detail under section 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of The Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956. Capacity of a male Hindu to take in adoption(section7)
Section 7 of the Act deals with the capacity of a hindu male to take in adoption.
A male Hindu of sound mind and who is not a minor can take a son or daughter in adoption whether he is a bachelor,widower, divorcee or married person. if he has a wife who is alive and he cannot adopt without her consent unless the wife:

• has completely and finally renounced the world or ;
• has ceased to be a Hindu or ;
• has been declared to be of unsound mind by a court of competent jurisdiction .

if such a person has more than one wife living atthe time of adoption, consent of all the wives is necessary otherwise the adoption will be void.

Case: Ghisalal V Dhapubai
In this case it was that the consent of wife is mandatory in adoption, consent should be in writing or by a positive affirmative act done by her voluntarily, her presence alone at the time of adoption ceremony cannot be considered as her consent.

• Capacity of a female Hindu to take in adoption (Section8)
  Section 8 of the Act deals with the capacity of a hindu female to take in adoption.

Under the old Hindu law, a female had no capacity to take a child in adoption. Though a widow under certain circumstances could adopt a son to her deceased husband. After 2010 amendment a married woman can adopt child with the consent of her husband.

According to Section 8, any female Hindu have the capacity to take a child in adoption who is of sound mind and not a minor and who is not married or if she is married whose:

• husband is dead or;
• has completely completely and finally renounced the world or;
• ceased to be a Hindu or has been declared to be of unsound mind by a court of competent jurisdiction.

The person giving in adoption has the capacity to do so  (section9)
Section 9 deals with the person who can law give a child in adoption. Under The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, Father, Mother and Guardian have the power to give the child in adoption. The term father and mother do not include adoptive father and adoptive mother.

The Father:
father alone has the right to give in adoption, but this cannot be done without the consent of the mother, unless the mother:

• has completely and finally renounced the world or cease to be a Hindu or has been declared to be of unsoundmind by a court of competent jurisdiction.

The Mother:
The Mother of an illegitimate child has the power to give the child in adoption and no question arises of putative father's consent.

The mother of an legitimate child can give the child in adoption, if the husband is dead or has completely or finally renounced the world or ceased to be Hindu or has been declared to be of unsoundmind by a court of competent jurisdiction.

The Guardian:
The Guardian of the child has also been given the power to give a child in adoption with the previous permission of the court, in cases where both father and mother are:

• dead or finally and completely renounced the world
• have abandoned the child
• have been declared to be of unsound mind by the court of competent jurisdiction
• the parentage of the child is not known

It may be noted that the child can be given in adoption to any person including the guardian himself.

It is also clarified that the term 'guardian' in this context means a person having the care of the minor's person or of both the person and property includes:

• a guardian appointed by the will of child's father and mother or;
• the child appointed by or declared by a court.

Before granting such permission to Guardian, The court will have to be satisfied that adoption will be for the Welfare of the child.

• The person who is the adopted should be capable of being taken in adoption: (Section10)

No person shall be capable of being taken in adoption unless the following four conditions given in section 10 of the Act are satisfied:

1. He/she is a Hindu or;
2. He/she has not already been adopted or;
3. He/she is not married, unless there is a custom or usage applicable to the parties, which permits a married person being taken in adoption or;
4. He/she has not completed the age of 15 years, unless there is a custom or usage applicable to the parties, which permits a person over 15 years being taken in adoption.

> Under the previous uncodified law, only a male could be adopted because adoption of a daughter was not recognised. But under this act it is clear that adoption can be both of a son as > Prior to 1956, it was necessary that the adopted son belonged to the same caste as his adopted father. In other words a Brahmin couldn't adopt a Shudra or Vaishya. This limitation is now abolishedwell as of a daughter.

• The adoption should be made in compilance with the other conditions mentioned in this Act: (section11)

Section 11 lays down 6 conditions of a valid adoption. These are as follows:

• Adoption of Son: if a son is being adopted, the adoptive father / mother must not have a Hindu son, son's son, or son's son's son living at the time of adoption. If the son, son's son, or son's son's son has ceased to be a Hindu, an adoption of a son will be valid.
• Adoption of Daughter: if a daughter is being adopted, the adoptive father or mother must not have a Hindu daughter or son's daughter living at the time of adoption.
• Two persons cannot adopt the same child: The same child may not be adopted simultaneously by two or more persons. The two persons mean other than husband and wife, such as two sisters to a brother or two friends.
• Age difference between the male parent and child: if a Hindu male is adopting a female, the adoptive father should be at least 21 years older than the girl to be adopted.
• Age difference between the female parent and child: if a Hindu female is adopting a male, the adoptive mother should be at least 21 years older than the male to be adopted.
• Intent to transfer: The child to be adopted must be actually given and taken in adoption by parents or Guardian concerned with the intent to transfer the child from the family of its birth to the family of its adoption.

Effects of adoption: ( section12)
Under Hindu law, both old and new, the adoption of a child means that child is totally uprooted from the natural family and transplanted in the new family for all purposes, adopted child ceases to be the child of Natural Family.

According to Section 12, an adopted child is to be deemed to be the child of his/ her adoptive father or mother for all purposes, with effect from the date of adoption from the date of adoption. All the ties of the child in the family of his birth are deemed to be severed and replaced by those created by adoption.

> what has been stated above has to be understood subject to 3 important qualifications Laid down by section 12.

• He/she can't marry any person in his Natural Family whom he/she could not have married before adoption.
• If the adopted child has been vested with some property of his/her family of birth before adoption took place, the adoptee shall continue to enjoy that property and it will not go back to the family of birth.
• The adopted child shall not divest any person of any estate which vested in him/her before the adoption.

Case: Devgonda V Shamgonda
the court held that the plaintiff failed to prove the adoption was illegal and invalid. it was also held at the suit was beyond limitation as it has not been filed within the period of 3 years.

• Right of adoptive parents to dispose of their properties:(section 13)
  section 13 provides that an adoption does not deprive the adaptive father or mother of the power to dispose of his/her property by transfer inter vivos or by will.
   
• Determination of adoptive mother in certain cases: (section 14)

Normally, if a person having a wife adopts a child, such a child also becomes the child of adoptive mother. section 14 therefore lays down three simple rules for determining who is adaptive mother in certain circumstances. Thus:

• If a male Hindu, having wife, adopts a child, the wife is deemed to be the adoptive mother.
• if such a Hindu has more than one wife and the adoption is made with their consent, the seniormost in marriage amongest them is Deemed to be the adoptive mother and others are considered as step mothers.
• where a widower or bachelor adopts a child, any woman whom he subsequently marries is deemed to be the stepmother of adopted child.
• Valid adoption not to be cancelled: (Section 15)

Section 15 lays down that a valid adoption once made can't be cancelled by adoptive father or mother or any other person.Nor can adopted child can renounce his status as such and return to the family of his birth. Presumption as to registered document, relating to adoption: (section 16)
Section 16 provides that if a document purporting to record an adoption is signed by the person giving and Person taking the child in adoption and is registered under the law, the court shall presume that adoption was made in compilance with the provisions of the Act unless and until the contrary is proved.

Conclusion
The process of adoption has undergone through various changes in past times. Its objective has been changed in present times. Earlier, it was considered as religious instituton but now the concept has changed from time to time . these days it is considered as the most developmental process for the whole society because of which all the childern's which are not born legal are legalized after the process of adoption.

In addition to legalization, the children's also get care and protection from their adoptive family. Hence, adoption is the best way to give them a best life. By this process couples got childern's and children's got parents.