In a landmark ruling, the Bombay High Court has declared that individuals who donate sperm or eggs do not hold any legal rights over a child conceived through surrogacy. This decision has granted visitation rights to a woman to her five-year-old twin daughters, born through surrogacy.
The 42-year-old woman had filed a petition seeking access to her daughters, who were residing with her estranged husband and his sister, the egg donor. The husband argued that his sister’s role as the egg donor made her the biological parent, while his wife had no such claim. However, Justice Milind Jadhav dismissed this argument, emphasizing that the egg donor’s contribution only made her a genetic mother, not a legal parent.
The court highlighted the 2005 guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which govern surrogacy agreements before the enactment of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021. These guidelines clearly state that both the egg donor and the surrogate mother must relinquish all parental rights. Consequently, the court established that the twins are legally the daughters of the petitioner and her husband.
The petitioner’s plea underscored that she had lived with the twins until March 2021, after their birth in August 2019. Following a marital dispute, her husband moved with the children, claiming that his sister, the egg donor, had been living with them due to depression and was caring for the twins.
The high court overturned the lower court’s decision, which had denied the petitioner visitation rights. It directed the husband to allow her three hours of physical access to the twins every weekend. This ruling clarifies the legal position of egg donors in surrogacy cases, confirming that their contribution is solely genetic and does not confer parental rights. The court’s emphasis on the ICMR guidelines further reinforces the principle of relinquishing parental rights by both donors and surrogate mothers. This decision is significant for ensuring the rights of intended parents and for providing clarity in surrogacy cases in India.
