SC Upholds Reproductive Autonomy in Surrogacy Cases

On 9th October 2025, in a significant verdict, Supreme Court (SC) ruled that the age limits under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, cannot apply retrospectively to couples who began the surrogacy process before the law took effect in January 2022.

Case Background

  • Petitions: Filed by three couples who had undergone IVF and frozen embryos before Jan 25, 2022, when the Surrogacy Act came into effect.
  • Issue: They became ineligible under Section 4(iii)(c)(I) (age limits: women 23–50, men 26–55).
  • Argument: Since embryos were created pre-2022, the process was already initiated and could not be retrospectively invalidated.

Key Takeaways from the Ruling

  • Reproductive ....
Do You Want to Read More?
Subscribe Now
To get access to detailed content

Already a Member? Login here

Take Annual Subscription and get the following Advantage
The annual members of the Civil Services Chronicle can read the monthly content of the magazine as well as the Chronicle magazine archives.
Readers can study all the material since 2018 of the Civil Services Chronicle monthly issue in the form of Chronicle magazine archives.
Be an Annual Subscriber

India Watch