Concept of Adoption — MCQs

All questions with answers and explanations

Read the full set here, or use the practice card above to test yourself one question at a time.

1. Under Section 5(2), an adoption made in contravention of Chapter II is:

   • Voidable
   • Valid
   • Void (correct answer)
   • Suspended

   Explanation. Section 5(2) makes such an adoption void, leaving both families' existing rights untouched.

2. How many basic requisites for a valid adoption are listed in Section 6?

   • 2
   • 3
   • 4 (correct answer)
   • 5

   Explanation. Section 6 lists four requisites: capacity to adopt, capacity to give, capacity to be adopted, and compliance with other conditions.

3. Under Section 10, a child cannot ordinarily be adopted if he or she has completed:

   • 12 years
   • 15 years (correct answer)
   • 18 years
   • 21 years

   Explanation. Section 10(iv) bars adoption of a child over 15, unless a custom applicable to the parties permits it.

4. Under Section 11(i), a man cannot adopt a son if he already has a living:

   • Daughter
   • Hindu son, son's son, or son's son's son (correct answer)
   • Wife
   • Brother

   Explanation. Section 11(i) bars adopting a son if the adopter already has a living Hindu son, son's son, or son's son's son.

5. The 21-year age-gap rule under Section 11(iii)/(iv) applies:

   • Always
   • Only when adopter and adoptee are the same gender
   • Only when adopter and adoptee are of different genders (correct answer)
   • Never

   Explanation. The age-gap rule applies only when the adopter and the child being adopted are of different genders.

6. Under the proviso to Section 11(vi), performance of the datta homam ceremony is:

   • Mandatory
   • Not essential to the adoption's validity (correct answer)
   • Required only for daughters
   • Required only if the child is over 10

   Explanation. The proviso makes clear that datta homam is not essential — actual giving and taking is what the law requires.

7. Can the same child be adopted by two or more persons at the same time?

   • Yes, always
   • No, this is prohibited under Section 11(v) (correct answer)
   • Yes, with court permission
   • Only for daughters

   Explanation. Section 11(v) prohibits simultaneous adoption of the same child by two or more persons.

8. Under Section 10(i), a child capable of being adopted must be:

   • Muslim
   • Hindu (correct answer)
   • Christian
   • Of any religion

   Explanation. Section 10(i) requires the child to be a Hindu to be capable of being taken in adoption under this Act.

9. Under Section 7, a male Hindu with a living wife needs her consent to adopt unless she has:

   • Given birth recently
   • Renounced the world, ceased to be Hindu, or been declared of unsound mind by a court (correct answer)
   • Refused without giving a reason
   • Turned 40 years old

   Explanation. The proviso to Section 7 excuses her consent only in these three specified situations.

10. A married woman who wants to adopt needs her husband's consent unless he has:

    • Gone abroad for a year
    • Completely and finally renounced the world, ceased to be a Hindu or been declared of unsound mind by a court (correct answer)
    • Refused to give a reason
    • Turned 60 years old

    Explanation. The proviso to Section 8 excuses the husband's consent only in these three situations.

11. Which section of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 gives a female Hindu the capacity to take a child in adoption?

    • Section 6
    • Section 7
    • Section 8 (correct answer)
    • Section 9

    Explanation. Section 8 gives any female Hindu who is of sound mind and not a minor the capacity to take a son or daughter in adoption.

12. Under Section 9(1), who has the capacity to give a child in adoption?

    • Only the father
    • The father, the mother, or the guardian (correct answer)
    • Any close relative
    • Only the mother

    Explanation. Section 9(1) restricts this capacity to the father, the mother, or the guardian, and no one else.

13. Under Section 9(2), the father's right to give a child in adoption requires:

    • No conditions at all
    • The mother's consent, unless she qualifies for an exception (correct answer)
    • Court permission in every case
    • The grandfather's consent

    Explanation. Section 9(2) makes the father's right subject to the mother's consent, absent one of the specified exceptions.

14. Under Section 9(4), a guardian may give a child in adoption only with:

    • The mother's consent
    • The father's consent
    • The previous permission of the court (correct answer)
    • No permission is needed

    Explanation. Section 9(4) requires the guardian to obtain the court's previous permission before giving the child in adoption.

15. Under Section 8 as it stands today, who can adopt?

    • Only unmarried women
    • Any female Hindu of sound mind and majority, subject to conditions if married (correct answer)
    • Only widows
    • No woman can adopt

    Explanation. Section 8 gives this capacity to any female Hindu of sound mind who is not a minor. A married woman needs her husband's consent unless an exception applies.

16. Under Section 7, can a man with more than one living wife adopt?

    • No, never
    • Yes, with the consent of all the wives (unless one's consent is excused) (correct answer)
    • Yes, without any consent
    • No, unless he is divorced

    Explanation. The Explanation to Section 7 requires consent of all living wives, unless any individual wife's consent is excused for one of the specified reasons.

17. Under Section 12, from what date is an adopted child deemed the child of the adoptive parents?

    • The child's birth date
    • The date of the adoption (correct answer)
    • The date of registration
    • The date of a court order

    Explanation. Section 12 makes the adoption effective, for all purposes, from the date of the adoption itself.

18. Proviso (a) to Section 12 preserves which rule from the birth family?

    • Property rights
    • Prohibited-marriage (sapinda) rules (correct answer)
    • The maintenance obligation
    • Guardianship rights

    Explanation. Proviso (a) keeps the prohibited-relationship marriage rules from the birth family intact even after adoption.

19. Proviso (b) to Section 12 concerns:

    • Property acquired after the adoption
    • Property already vested in the child before the adoption (correct answer)
    • The adoptive parents' own property
    • Only ancestral property

    Explanation. Proviso (b) protects property already vested in the child before the adoption, along with any attached obligations.

20. Under Section 13, does adoption restrict the adoptive parent's power to dispose of their own property?

    • Yes, always
    • No, unless there is an agreement to the contrary (correct answer)
    • Yes, only by will
    • No, under no circumstances

    Explanation. Section 13 keeps the adoptive parent's power to dispose of their own property intact, absent a contrary agreement.

21. Under Section 15, can a validly made adoption be cancelled?

    • Yes, by the adoptive father
    • Yes, by the adopted child
    • No, it cannot be cancelled by anyone (correct answer)
    • Yes, by a fresh court order

    Explanation. Section 15 makes a valid adoption permanent — it cannot be cancelled by anyone, nor renounced by the child.

22. Under Section 16, what presumption arises from a registered adoption document signed by both the giver and the taker?

    • None
    • A presumption that the adoption complied with the Act (correct answer)
    • Conclusive, unchallengeable proof
    • A presumption of fraud

    Explanation. Section 16 raises a presumption of compliance that stands until it is disproved.

23. Proviso (c) to Section 12 protects:

    • The adopted child's future rights only
    • Third parties' estates already vested before the adoption (correct answer)
    • The adoptive parents' will
    • Nothing in particular

    Explanation. Proviso (c) ensures the adoption cannot divest any other person of an estate that had already vested in them.

24. In Sitabai v. Ramchandra, the adopted son was held to be a coparcener because:

    • Adoption is always retrospective for every purpose
    • Under sections 11, 12 and 14, a son adopted by a widow is also the son of her deceased husband (correct answer)
    • He was the eldest son
    • Of a special court order

    Explanation. A son adopted by a widow is also the son of her deceased husband, so he became a coparcener of the joint family.