Delhi High Court Disapproves Encouragement of Surrogacy Business in India

The Delhi High Court expressed concerns that promoting the surrogacy industry in India might lead to its expansion into a billion-dollar business. This observation arose during a hearing on a plea filed by an Indian-origin couple residing in Canada. They contested the amendment made to the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, which banned donor surrogacy.

The court, comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna, questioned the necessity of encouraging the surrogacy industry in India, highlighting that the changes in surrogacy rules were initiated due to court interventions.

"Why should the court get into all this now? This industry (surrogacy) need not be encouraged here. You are based in Canada. You cannot run an industry here. This will become a billion dollars industry. This is not a case where we should be asking the government to do anything," the bench said.

The court scheduled further hearings for similar petitions on January 15, 2024.

The petitioners, an Indian couple living in Canada, cited their childlessness and a medical condition that required gestational surrogacy for them to become parents. They had sought surrogacy involving oocyte donation, where embryos would be transferred into the surrogate mother's uterus, created from donor oocytes and the husband's sperm. Despite being granted a medical indication for surrogacy in December 2022, the couple faced a setback when the Centre issued a notification on March 14, 2023, banning donor surrogacy by amending the regulations.

The Delhi government was represented by standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi during the proceedings. The Indian-origin couple, legally married according to Hindu rites, emphasized their status as permanent residents of India and their need for surrogacy due to infertility issues. The matter remains pending with the court, set for further deliberation in early 2024.