India, May 6 -- The Bombay high court on Monday took suo-motu (on its own) cognisance of a media report highlighting that prospective parents in India have to wait for an average of three-and-a-half years to adopt infants and young children.

A division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice MS Karnik sought a response from the Centre, the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA), and other relevant authorities on the matter.

The court also appointed senior advocate Dr Milind Sathe and advocate Gaurav Shrivastava as amici curiae to assist it in adjudicating the suo-motu proceedings. The matter is scheduled to be heard on June 23.

The bench referred to a news report published in The Times of India on April 3, citing CARA data a...