Post-1956 adoption must satisfy statutory age limits; adoption above fifteen needs proved custom or usage to be valid.

An adoption made after the commencement of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 must comply with section 10 of the Act, not prior Hindu law. A person who has completed fifteen years of age cannot be taken in adoption unless a proved custom or usage permits it. Because the adopted person was described as forty years old and no finding was recorded on any applicable custom, the Tribunal proceeded on an incorrect legal basis and ignored the statutory bar. Its order was set aside and the matter remitted for fresh decision under the Act.

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Issues: Whether the Tribunal was right in upholding the adoption deed and in holding that the adopted son had no interest in the property, and whether the matter had to be decided in the light of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.

Analysis: The adoption took place after the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 had come into force, so the governing law was the statute and not the earlier Hindu law relied upon by the Tribunal. Under section 10(iv) of the Act, a person who has completed fifteen years of age cannot be taken in adoption unless a custom or usage applicable to the parties permits such adoption. The adopted person was stated in the deed to be forty years old, and there was no finding on the existence of any custom or usage permitting adoption at that age. The Tribunal therefore proceeded on an incorrect legal basis and without considering the statutory bar and its exception.

Conclusion: The Tribunal's order was set aside and the matter was remitted to it for fresh decision in accordance with the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.

Ratio Decidendi: An adoption made after the commencement of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 must satisfy section 10 of that Act, and an adoption of a person above fifteen years of age is invalid unless supported by a proved custom or usage.

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