WYAVASTHA-DARPANA. 870 The following is the opinion of Baboo Prosunno Coumar Tagore on the antject of alpin by a widow, The Ilindoo law of adoption by a widow may be divided into the following five heads,1. The right of a widow to adopt-o. The qualification of the person to ho «doբtd. -, 'l'ho form necessary to be observed in adoption-4. The effect of non-observance of the rules and necessary ceremonies.--9. The effect of adoption in due forum, I. The right iya tidote to adu/. The authorities of the Bengal school are unanimous that a widow cannot adopt without the tanction of her husband, either written or otherwise, formally expressed in his lifetime. She is incapable in her own right to adopt an heir to her husband's estate. But whei, such sanction is left by her deceased husband, he in fact adopts the person through the delegated ager.cy of his wife. When she adopts any person under such sanction, she in fact, in the capacity of agent, orries into execution the instruction of the principal. She is therefore bound to see that the authority given to her for such act is valid, and that she hits power to carry it into effect. II. The qualificatio) '^ (hr persou to be ada, fel. The person to be selected for adoption must he free from any disqualification, which night
- + prevent him from sulfilling the purposes of his adoption. He must be of a certain age and must not b, within a certain degree of relatiotiship to the adopter. The ceremony of his tonsure
must not have been performed, and so forth. J II. The form necessary fo he obserred in adoption. The party intending to adopt should give notice of his intention to the ruling authoritics, and proceed to the adoption in the presence of his kinsmen with the preseribed forms. But a willow not being capable of performing certain of the ceremonies, she is required to perform them through the agency of Brahmins. The disregard of any inimaterial part of the ceremonies will not vitiate the adoption. 1 г. 7%, еј сt o/ a"n-thy ,rtner of the rises und mocessary ceremones. It is ordained that it a son be adopted without the observance of prescribed forms, his silia) relation will not be established. But he will he entitled to funds sufficient to defray the expenses of his marriage. It is also stated that the ceremony of tonsure and other rites of initiation hoing indeed performed under his own family name, a slot, given and the re:t may be considered as issue; else they are termed slaves, Isence it should be observed that a person adopted without observance of necessary ceremonio's cannot be heir to the deceased proprietor. He will be duly entitled to his narriage expense and become a slave in the family. But there is a nice distinction in this matter. For every adoption has two conditious to triake it invalid.—18t. If an adoption take place without authority from the husband.--2nd. If it take place under authority, after the death of her husband, to adopt a son, provided he gave her permission to do so, during his life. time—It is a universal rule in Bengal and Iłonares, that a woman can neither adopt a son, nor give away her son in adoption, without the sanction of her husband proviausly obtaiiied." ( Maen. II, L. vol. I. pp. 10, 100.) The latter part of this rule, namely, “nor give away her son, without the sanction of her husband previously obtained” though it be a general rule, is not the law of lengal, the DattakaChandriká having laid down a different rule.—See D. Ch. Sect. I, § 31.
