The aim of this study is to design and develop a novel cost effective method for fluoride removal, applicable to rural areas of developing countries. Adsorption is widely considered as one of the appropriate technologies for water defluoridation. This study investigates the feasibility of using low-cost biomass based activated carbon from the bark of Morinda tinctoria coated with aluminum hydroxide (AHAC) for water defluoridation, at neutral pH range. Characterization of AHAC was done through IR, SEM with EDAX studies before and after fluoride treatment. The fluoride adsorption capacity of AHAC as a function of contact time, pH and initial fluoride concentration was investigated. The role of co-existing interfering ions also was studied. The isotherm and kinetic models were used to understand the nature of the fluoride adsorption onto AHAC. Freundlich isotherm and intra-particle diffusion were the best-fitting models for the adsorption of fluoride on AHAC. Fluoride adsorption kinetics well fitted with pseudo-second order model. The results showed excellent fluoride adsorption capacity was found to be 26.03 mg g⁻¹ at neutral pH.