Lilongwe/Johannesburg  - A leading human rights group in Malawi on Friday welcomed a court's decision to turn down an application from US pop star Madonna to adopt a second child from the southern African country.

In a surprise move, the High Court in Malawi's capital Lilongwe on Friday turned down Madonna's application for an interim 18-month custody order for four-year-old Chifundo (Mercy) James, three years after she was given custody of Malawi-born infant David Banda.

Nelson Magombo, an official in the ministry of information told the German Press Agency dpa, that the decision went against Madonna because Madonna is a single mother, but other sources said the ruling had hinged on residency. Madonna and British filmmaker Guy Ritchie divorced last year.

Undule Mwaksungula, chairman of Malawi's Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), a network of NGOs that had lobbied against both adoptions, said he had also been informed that Madonna's marital status had been a factor, along with with the fact that she is a non- resident.

"We are very happy. I think it's the right decision, the right ruling," Mwaksungula said. "I don't think the welfare of Malawian children can be solved by inter-country adoptions," he said.

The HRCC has consistently maintained that the country's adoption laws are too weak and prone to manipulation and is pushing for new legislation to protect children's rights.

Malawi's adoption laws require that prospective adoptive parents be resident in the country for 18-24 months beforehand, a condition Madonna did not meet. The BBC and local radio listed the residency issue as the sole reason.

The government had waived the residency requirement in granting Ritchie and the 50-year-old star custody of David in 2006, when he was just 13 months. The High Court had confirmed her adoption of David last year.

The ruling is a blow to Madonna's attempts to have a sister for David from his country. She also has two biological children. It was not clear whether she would appeal the ruling to a higher court.

In an interview with a local newspaper in March, Madonna had said she would only adopt another child if the population and government supported it - support she appeared to have.

Madonna met the little girl two years ago in the same Tikondane orphanage south of the commercial hub Blantyre where she met David.

David's adoption became shrouded in controversy when it emerged that David's father was still alive, even though he agreed to the adoption. Some critics said Madonna should have supported the family financially so that David could remain in Malawi.

Mercy's father was reported in local media to have been absent from birth. The extended family had been reportedly divided over Madonna should adopt her.

But Malawian government officials and most people in the extremely poor country had supported Madonna's bid to give another of the country's around 1 million orphans a better life.

Nearly half of the population of 13 million lives on less than a 1 dollar a day. The United Nations children's agency UNICEF estimates half of the orphans have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.