New Delhi:Indian laws permit an individual to adopt a child irrespective of marital status, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while asserting that the law recognises there may be situations apart from an “ideal family” having its own biological children.

In its submission to the apex court, which is hearing pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages, child rights body NCPCR argued that the concept of gender may be “fluid” but not mother and motherhood.

Highlighting the legal position in different statutes that the welfare of a child is paramount, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) told a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that it has been held in several judgements that adoption of a child is not a fundamental right.

Press Trust of India