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The Bombay High Court today cleared the way for the adoption of a three-year-old girl, who has been living with her foster parents in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, since 2014. The foster parents were unable to legally adopt the girl since her biological mother went missing before the adoption process was completed.

A bench of justices Naresh Patil and N W Sambre disposed of a plea filed by the prospective adoptive parents after the Maharashtra Child Welfare Committee (CWC) informed the court it had declared the child "legally free for adoption" last week. The HC directed the authorities and the petitioners to complete the adoption process as per provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the norms laid down by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).