A 34-year-old single man from Mumbai, fulfilled his dream of fatherhood on Sunday by adopting three-year-old from Shishu Gruh in Ahmedabad. Experts say this is possibly the first such instance of single-man adoption in the city.
“The first thing we did as father and son was shop for clothes and enjoy ice cream,” new father shared. “It still feels like a dream; it’ll take time to sink in.” Always yearning for fatherhood but sceptical about relationships, he endured a nearly three-year-long adoption process through the Central Adoption Resource Authority.
Updated 2024 guidelines now allow individuals, regardless of marital status, to foster children. “I’ve seen many relationships fail, often impacting children. That fear made me hesitant about marriage, but I realized parenthood is different,” he said. Gaining confidence in his ability to be a responsible parent, he applied for adoption in 2022 with his parents’ support.
Shishu Gruh superintendent Ritesh Dave confirmed that the boy was enrolled in January 2024 and declared legally free for adoption in January 2025. “Single-parent adoptions undergo extra scrutiny. The young man presented his case well, and his parents assured full support. We are happy that both the child and the parent found each other,” he said.
As per adoption rules, single women can adopt children of any gender, while single men can only adopt boys. Adoption authorities note that societal scrutiny makes many hesitant to share their decision until they feel confident.