Surrogacy industry need not be encouraged in India: Delhi HC

NEW DELHI: Hearing an Indian couple based in Canada challenging the Centre's notification banning donor surrogacy, the Delhi High Court observed, "The (surrogacy) industry need not be encouraged here."

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Minister Pushkarna remarked, "Why should the court get into all this now? 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 Court was expressing concerns that if left unchecked the 'surrogacy industry' may grow into a billion-dollar business.

The plea was filed by an Indian-origin couple living in Canada. They were challenging a March 14 notification amending the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act to ban donor surrogacy by altering Form 2 under Rule 7 of the Surrogacy Rules, 2022.

The Court said that the changes in surrogacy rules had happened at the instance of the courts itself and refused to pass any direction at this stage. However, it listed the matter for further hearing on January 15, 2024.

Brief facts

The petitioners were Indian nationals married according to Hindu rites and ceremonies. They pleaded that they are a childless couple and have a medical condition that necessitates gestational surrogacy.

They had requested for surrogacy with oocyte donation where embryos were to be transferred into the uterus of the surrogate mother. The embryos were to be created from donor oocytes and sperm of the husband.

It said the couple was granted certificate of medical indication for surrogacy with donor oocyte in December 2022, stating that they can undergo a surrogacy procedure as an advanced treatment for infertility.

However, on March 14, 2023, the Centre issued a notification amending the surrogacy regulations and banning donor surrogacy.