Delhi High Court Critiques Surrogacy Industry, Examines Ban on Donor Surrogacy

In a recent hearing, the Delhi High Court expressed reservations about the burgeoning surrogacy industry in India, cautioning against its unchecked growth, which could potentially transform into a billion-dollar business. The court made these observations while deliberating on a plea filed by an Indian-origin couple residing in Canada. Their challenge was directed at the March 14 notification by the Centre, which amended the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, specifically targeting donor surrogacy by modifying Form 2 under Rule 7 of the Surrogacy Rules, 2022.

Presiding over the bench, Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna questioned the necessity for court intervention in this matter, highlighting the couple’s Canadian residency and suggesting that operating an industry in India from abroad should not be endorsed. The bench underscored concerns regarding the industry’s potential exponential growth and emphasized that advocating for its development wasn’t warranted. The court has scheduled further hearings on January 15, 2024, to address similar petitions related to this issue.

Representatives of the Delhi government, including standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi, were present during the proceedings. The petitioners, an Indian couple legally married as per Hindu rites and permanent residents of India, asserted their childless status due to a medical condition necessitating gestational surrogacy for them to become parents.

According to the petition, the couple sought surrogacy involving oocyte donation, intending to transfer embryos into the surrogate mother’s uterus. These embryos were to be formed from donor oocytes and the husband’s sperm. Despite being granted a medical indication certificate for surrogacy involving donor oocytes in December 2022, the couple faced a setback when, on March 14, 2023, the Central government issued a notification amending surrogacy regulations, effectively banning donor surrogacy.

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