HYDERABAD/KARIMNAGAR : For Kasarapu Saritha and Srinivas, the sense of security that they could finally move on with life after getting their three-year-old adopted son Rudhra Mahesh back lasted barely a day.
No sooner had Rudhra been placed back in their arms on Tuesday than the couple faced with the prospect of being separated from him again, with the state government moving the Telangana High Court on Wednesday to challenge the order restoring his custody to them.
The couple, who had fought a months-long legal battle to get their son back, asked their advocate, K Raghunandan Reddy, to file a counter petition challenging the government’s move. “If the boy is taken away from us, we will not be able to live. We have developed an emotional bond with him over the last three years,” they said.
The appeal came up before a bench of Acting Chief Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Suddala Chalapathi Rao on Wednesday. The bench adjourned the matter to November 18, 2026. The adjournment has given the couple a fortnight before they have to confront the possibility of another separation.
The couple’s ordeal began when child protection authorities took Rudhra away from them. They approached the High Court alleging that the child had been forcibly removed from their care, despite his biological parents, Anasuri Sumalatha and Laxman, having given him in adoption with their consent on November 26, 2023. They maintained that the adoption had been performed according to Hindu traditions.
On October 16, a single judge directed the authorities to restore the child’s custody to the couple. The order was implemented on Tuesday, when Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) officials handed over Rudhra to them. The reunion came after months of separation and mental agony for the couple, and a video of the child pleading with his adoptive parents to take him home had gone viral, triggering widespread debate.
CWC had placed child in care after helpline tip-off: State
The state has now challenged the single judge’s order, arguing that the adoption is disputed and questioning its validity under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.
It contended that the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) had placed the child in protective care after receiving information through the Child Helpline on August 24.
The government has also questioned the CWC’s powers under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and referred to Crime No. 513 of 2026 concerning the circumstances surrounding the child’s transfer.
It has sought suspension of the single judge’s order pending disposal of the appeal. Jagtial Collector B Satya Prasad said the appeal was initiated by the Women and Child Development department. As the matter concerned Jagtial district, he had signed the vakalatnama in the High Court, he said.
Counter complaint in the works
The couple, who had fought a months-long legal battle to get their son, Rudhra Mahesh, back, asked their advocate, K Raghunandan Reddy, to file a counter petition challenging the government’s move. “If the boy is taken away from us, we will not be able to live. We have developed an emotional bond with him over the last three years,” they told TNIE.
