Court permits stepfather to adopt 18-year-old girl in exceptional case

• Now, he is declared as girl’s father in identification documents   

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda   

The Colombo District Court has delivered a judgement permitting the adoption of an 18-year-old girl, citing special and compelling circumstances that placed her welfare at the forefront.   

Under the Adoption Ordinance No. 24 of 1941, adoption is ordinarily restricted to children below 14 years of age, with the additional requirement of the child’s consent if over 10 years. However, District Court Judge Chandima Edirimanna ruled in favour of the adoption after considering the exceptional facts and evidence presented.   

The adopting party, the first petitioner, is married to the girl’s biological mother. A legal obstacle arose under Section 3(1) of the Ordinance, which mandates at least a 21-year age gap between adopter and child. In this case, the gap was only 18 years.   

Further complications had compounded the girl’s difficulties. Her birth certificate recorded her parents as unmarried, which prevented her from obtaining a National Identity Card (NIC). Without an NIC, she was unable to sit for the G.C.E. Ordinary Level examination, causing her severe emotional and educational setbacks. Her biological father had abandoned the family, and his whereabouts remain unknown.   

To overcome these barriers, both the biological mother and the first petitioner filed a joint affidavit, while the girl herself submitted a separate affidavit, giving informed and voluntary consent to the adoption. The first petitioner also produced evidence of financial stability and overseas employment. 

Counsel Roshanara Fernando, instructed by Attorney-at-Law Yasanthi Karunathilake and assisted by Senior Counsel Ian Fernando, argued that despite the statutory age-gap restriction, the court was empowered to exercise discretion in extraordinary situations. She stressed that the “best interests of the child” must prevail over rigid technicalities in the law.   

The court was also urged to consider the outdated nature of Sri Lanka’s adoption laws. The Adoption Ordinance was framed under the 1948 Soulbury Constitution, when the age of majority was 21. However, the 1972 Constitution lowered the age of majority to 18, creating an inconsistency in the law that has yet to be reformed.   

The Court allowed the adoption taking into account the circumstances that warranted an exception. The court directed that the petitioners’ names be included as the parents on the child’s birth certificate, ensuring the girl’s legal recognition, stability, and future security.