{"id":57634,"date":"2025-08-01T10:32:39","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T05:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=57634"},"modified":"2025-08-01T10:32:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T05:02:39","slug":"sc-reserves-verdict-on-age-cap-for-surrogacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sc-reserves-verdict-on-age-cap-for-surrogacy\/","title":{"rendered":"SC Reserves Verdict on Age Cap for Surrogacy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Surrogacy in India Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court of India has reserved its verdict on multiple petitions challenging the age restrictions imposed by <\/span><b>the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, especially where the surrogacy process was initiated before the enactment of these laws.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Background &#8211; Legal Framework Governing Surrogacy in India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>The Surrogacy and ART Regulation Acts (2021):<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Objective<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Ban commercial surrogacy and promote altruistic surrogacy only.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Key provisions:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Age limit for intending couples &#8211;<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Woman: 23\u201350 years<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Man: 26\u201355 years<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>For single women<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Only widows\/divorcees aged 35\u201345 eligible.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Requirement of <\/span><b>certificate of essentiality<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including proof of infertility, parentage order, surrogate insurance.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Purpose of the law:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To prevent commodification of reproductive services.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure surrogacy is used only when medically necessary.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Based on expert medical advice to safeguard child and mother\u2019s health.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>The Case Before the Supreme Court<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Petitioners\u2019 arguments:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Couples began fertility procedures before law came into force (Jan 2022).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The age bar retroactively disqualifies them mid-process. <\/span><b>For example<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a couple aged 62 and 56 lost their child in 2018; failed embryo transfer in 2022; disqualified due to a new age cap.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Violation of Article 14<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Right to Equality) \u2013 arbitrary classification.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Violation of Article 21 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 infringement on reproductive autonomy and personal liberty.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>No grandfather clause<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for transitional protection in law.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Broader issues raised:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Exclusion <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of unmarried single women from eligibility is arbitrary.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The law\u2019s <\/span><b>narrow definition<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of \u201csingle women\u201d is under constitutional challenge, though not part of current petitions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Supreme Court\u2019s Observations and Government\u2019s Stand<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Government&#8217;s defence:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Age limits based on natural reproductive timelines and medical safety.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Advanced parental age poses risks to child&#8217;s health and parenting longevity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aligns with international best practices.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Court&#8217;s counterpoints:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhy bar surrogacy when natural geriatric pregnancies are allowed?\u201d (Justice Nagarathna)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court &#8211;<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Questioned the <\/span><b>rational nexus<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of age cap with the intent of the Act.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emphasised <\/span><b>lack of compassion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the law &#8211; \u201cStop, no children! Look how harsh it is.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stressed that the law aims to regulate commercial surrogacy, not to deny genuine parenthood.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Key Constitutional and Ethical Dimensions Involved in the Case<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Article 14<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Right to Equality \u2014 challenge to arbitrary age-based discrimination.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Article 21<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Right to Life and Personal Liberty \u2014 includes reproductive rights.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>State vs. individual autonomy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Balancing medical regulation and individual choice.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Judicial activism<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: SC\u2019s proactive role in interpreting personal liberty and family rights.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Lack of grandfather clause<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Raises concerns on legislative foresight and transitional justice.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court&#8217;s forthcoming verdict will be crucial in determining how laws regulating assisted reproduction balance medical ethics, legislative intent, and individual reproductive rights.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may also set a <\/span><b>precedent for future legal treatment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of transitional scenarios and personal autonomy in health-related legislation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/before-the-supreme-court-questions-over-the-age-cap-in-surrogacy-law-10162551\/#\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The SC has reserved its verdict on multiple petitions challenging the age restrictions imposed by the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 and Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":57639,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,1941,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-57634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-surrogacy-in-india","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}