Supreme Court Exempts Pre-Act Surrogacy Cases from Age Restrictions

The Supreme Court has delivered a landmark ruling regarding the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, deciding that age-related restrictions do not apply to married couples who began their surrogacy journey before the Act's enforcement in January 2022. This decision marks a crucial victory for couples who had previously frozen embryos before the law came into effect.

In a judgement passed by Justices BV Nagarathna and KV Vishwanathan, the bench maintained that imposing retrospective age limitations on couples undermines their constitutional right to have a surrogate child. The court emphasized that any limitations should be clearly defined and fairly implemented, ensuring that the Act isn't retroactively applied to veto a process already initiated.

The Act originally stipulated that a woman over 50 and a man over 55 would be ineligible for such procedures. However, because the couples were already engaged in the surrogacy process, with embryos created or frozen before January 25, 2022, the Court ruled out retrospective application of the age limit. The Supreme Court, focusing solely on the timing of the Act's application, allowed the petitions, granting exemptions to couples from meeting the contentious age criteria.

(With inputs from agencies.)