Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 · Chapter II: Adoption
Section 7: Capacity of a male Hindu to take in adoption
Any male Hindu who is of sound mind and is not a minor has the capacity to takes on or a daughter in adoption:
Provided that, if he has a wife living, he shall not adopt except with the consent of his wife unless the wife has completely and finally renounced the word or has ceased to be a Hindu or has been declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be of unsound mind.
Explanation.―If a person has more than one wife living at the time of adoption, the consent of all the wives is necessary unless the consent of any one of them is unnecessary for any of the reasons specified in the preceding proviso.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 16 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.