This Act may be called the Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2010.
Amendment to the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890
2. Amendment of section 19 of Act 8 of 1890.--
In section 19 of the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, for clause (b), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:--
"(b) of a minor, other than a married female, whose father or mother is living and is not, in the opinion of the court, unfit to be guardian of the person of the minor, or".
Chapter- III
Amendments to the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956
3. Substitution of new section for section 8.--
In the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 (78 of 1956) (hereafter in this Chapter referred to as the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act), for section 8, the following section shall be substituted, namely:--
"8. Capacity of a female Hindu to take in adoption.--
Any female Hindu who is of sound mind and is not a minor has the capacity to take a son or daughter in adoption:
Provided that, if she has a husband living, she shall not adopt a son or daughter except with the consent of her husband unless the husband has completely and finally renounced the world or has ceased to be a Hindu or has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind.".
4. Amendment of section 9.--
In the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, in section 9,--
(i) for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:--
"(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (4), the father or the mother, if alive, shall have equal right to give a son or daughter in adoption: