Surrogacy Act — Parentage and Custody Orders · 25 June 2026
Sri Nandhini Devi v. State of Tamil Nadu: Madras High Court Sets Aside Magistrate's Refusal of Surrogacy Parentage Order and Issues Guidelines
High Court of Judicature at Madras · 2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 281; CRL RC No. 950 of 2026
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A couple married in 2005 lost their son to cardiac arrest in 2024, and, as the wife has no uterus, decided to have a child through surrogacy. The appropriate authority issued an Eligibility Certificate to the couple, and a relative who agreed to be the surrogate also obtained one. The couple then applied to the Magistrate for an order on parentage and custody under Section 4(iii)(a)(II) of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021. The Magistrate dismissed the application on two grounds: that the intending mother was age-ineligible, and that the surrogate's husband had not been examined.
Justice Shamim Ahmed set the order aside and remanded the matter. On age, the Court noted the woman was 50 years, 9 months and 3 days old when the application was submitted, not yet 51, so she was not ineligible. On the second ground, it held that the Act does not require the surrogate's husband to be examined and only requires the intending couple or woman and the surrogate to initiate the proceedings. It held that a Magistrate should not reassess a validly issued certificate unless it is ex facie illegal, fraudulent or without jurisdiction, and does not sit in appeal over the Medical Board or Appropriate Authority. The Court also laid down guidelines for Magistrates on judicial scrutiny, personal interaction, undertakings, the child's welfare and time limits.
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