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Synopsis

The Bombay High Court has recently ruled that an egg donor or sperm donor does not have any legal rights over the child and cannot claim to be the biological parent.

A single judge bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Milind Jadhav, was hearing a petition filed by a woman who sought visitation rights for her 5-year-old child.

The plea stated that the petitioner could not conceive, so the petitioner’s sister volunteered to donate her eggs. In 2018, the babies were conceived by a surrogate woman, and twin girls were born in 2019.

The petitioner's husband contended that since the petitioner’s sister donated the eggs, she had the legitimate right to be recognized as the biological parent. In 2019, the petitioner’s sister and her family were involved in an accident, in which her daughter and husband lost their lives.

The petitioner and her husband stayed together until 2021, but after a marital discord, the husband moved to the petitioner’s sister’s house along with the twins.

The amicus appointed by the high court informed the bench that the 2021 amendment to the Surrogacy Act would not be applicable since the babies were conceived in 2018 and that the ICMR guidelines would apply instead.

The high court stated that the younger sister would not have any right to claim to be the biological mother of the twins.

“Under the guideline, it is clearly stated that the sperm/oocyte (egg) donor shall not have parental rights or duties in relation to the child and in that view of the matter, the younger sister of the petitioner can have no right whatsoever to intervene and claim to be the biological mother of the twin daughters,” the order states.

The high court, therefore, directed the husband to allow the wife to meet the daughters for three hours every weekend.

Case title: ABC vs XYZ