5 min readNew DelhiJul 28, 2026 11:13 AM IST
Nearly 11 years after losing their only son in a road accident, a couple has won the right to pursue surrogacy, with the Telangana High Court setting aside the Centre’s refusal to grant the mandatory eligibility certificate and directing authorities to issue it within 10 days.
Justice B Vijaysen Reddy passed the order while allowing a writ petition filed by a couple against the Union of India and other authorities. The couple had challenged a February 23 order rejecting their application for Eligibility and Essentiality Certificates under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021.
“In view of the law laid down by the Supreme Court, the petitioners are entitled to the issuance of Eligibility/Essentiality certificate,” the court held on July 22, setting aside the rejection order and directing the competent authority to issue the certificates within 10 days, subject to compliance with the remaining statutory requirements.
The high court relied on a Supreme Court judgment delivered on October 9, 2025, which interpreted provisions of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 to grant relief to an intending couple in exceptional circumstances. Holding that that ruling covered the present case, the court allowed the petition.
Justice Vijaysen Reddy held that the petitioners were entitled to the Eligibility and Essentiality Certificates in view of the Supreme Court’s ruling. (Image enhanced using AI)
Couple lost only child in 2015
According to the court record, the man got married first in 1996 and had a child born on February 20, 1997. That marriage ended in divorce on November 22, 2008, and the child remained in his custody.
He later married the second petitioner on February 14, 2013. Their son was born on June 17, 2014, but died in a road accident on December 6, 2015. Left without a child from their marriage, the couple later decided to opt for surrogacy.
The couple applied for the mandatory Eligibility and Essentiality Certificates required under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021. However, the competent authority rejected their request on February 23, stating that surrogacy for a second child is permissible only if the surviving child suffers from an abnormality, life-threatening disorder or fatal illness with no permanent cure.
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Since the petitioners did not satisfy that condition, their application was rejected. Aggrieved by the decision, they approached the high court.
Supreme Court precedent
Appearing for the petitioners, counsel relied on the Supreme Court‘s October 9, 2025 judgment in a 2024 case. In that case, the apex court had considered the plea of a remarried couple whose surrogacy process had commenced before the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 came into force.
Interpreting various provisions of the Act, the Supreme Court held that the statutory age restriction under Section 4(iii)(c)(I) would not apply in the peculiar facts of that case and directed the competent authority to issue the required certification, subject to fulfilment of the remaining statutory conditions. The high court noted that the law laid down by the Supreme Court governed the present case as well.
High Court sets aside rejection
Justice Vijaysen Reddy held that the petitioners were entitled to the Eligibility and Essentiality Certificates in view of the Supreme Court‘s ruling and set aside the February 23 rejection order.
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The court directed the Additional Director of ART and Surrogacy, Telangana to issue the certificates within 10 days from the date of receipt of a copy of the order, subject to the couple complying with the other statutory requirements prescribed under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act and the Rules. The writ petition was disposed of without any order as to costs.
Allahabad High Court upholds couple’s reproductive autonomy, eases surrogacy age bar
The Allahabad High Court recently upheld the right to “reproductive autonomy” for a couple seeking parenthood, relaxing statutory age restrictions that had previously barred the 50-plus-year-old wife from pursuing surrogacy.
Justices Shekhar B Saraf and Abhdesh Kumar Chaudhary were hearing a plea filed by a couple who were not able to get the benefit of surrogacy despite preserving three of the embryos over a decade ago
“Upon considering the arguments advanced by learned counsel for the petitioners as well as by learned counsel for the Union of India, we are of the view that the rigid application of age restriction under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 infringes the fundamental right of reproductive autonomy recognised as a part of personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India,” the July 7 order read.
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The couple had been married for over 17 years, and despite the fertility treatment, was unable to conceive naturally and had to undergo the In-Vitro-Fertilisation (IVF) procedure. The court noted that the procedure was “not promising”, as the continuous embryo transfers were unsuccessful.
