Delhi HC: a wrongly made adoption referral gives no vested right, even after the parents accept the child

The Delhi High Court dismissed a petition by a couple living in Singapore who wanted to adopt a baby girl referred to them by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), even though the mistake was CARA's own. Regulation 5(7) of the Adoption Regulations, 2022, framed under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, allows couples with two or more children to be considered only for special needs or hard to place children. The couple had two sons and the child was classified as normal. CARA referred her in January 2026, the couple accepted, the husband visited her, and CARA withdrew the referral before issuing its No Objection Certificate.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma held that neither referral nor acceptance creates a vested right; a positive right arises only on the final adoption order. A mandamus cannot direct an authority to act against its regulations. An expectation founded on an act contrary to the regulations is not "legitimate", and there can be no estoppel against a statute. Nor could the child's best interests override the eligibility rule: treating a bond formed after an erroneous referral as enough would make the process unequal for thousands of waiting parents.

The Court criticised CARA's lapses, including marking the application "withdrawn" when the couple had not withdrawn it, and issued directions on checking eligibility before referral and on accurate portal status. This is a Delhi High Court ruling, binding within Delhi, not a Supreme Court precedent.