dattaka homam
Under classical Hindu law, adoption (dattaka) involved the physical giving and taking of the child and, according to many authorities, the datta homam, a fire oblation. Courts held that datta homam was not necessary among Shudras and, in some regions, even among the twice-born where the boy was of the same gotra.
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 now governs all Hindu adoptions. Section 11(vi) requires the actual giving and taking of the child with intent to transfer it from the family of birth to the adoptive family; the performance of datta homam is expressly not essential to validity. The common error is to treat datta homam as a condition of a valid adoption today.
Example
The adoption is valid even though no datta homam was performed, because s.11(vi) HAMA requires only the actual giving and taking of the child.
In Indian law
- Section 11(vi), Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956
See also
Read more in the study notes
- Adoption under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (Family Law I - Hindu Law)