The Delhi High Court has granted an Indian couple the right to use the frozen sperm of their late son, Preet Inder Singh, for surrogacy.
Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman agrees to carry and deliver a child for another person or couple, who will become the child’s parent(s) after birth.
It is often used as a solution for individuals or couples facing infertility, medical complications, or other barriers to conceiving and carrying a pregnancy to term.
BBC reported on Wednesday that this landmark ruling followed a four-year legal struggle after a hospital refused to release the sperm.
The couple expressed their joy, stating, “We were very unlucky, we lost our son. But the court has given us a very precious gift. We would now be able to get our son back,” Preet’s mother, Harbir Kaur, told the BBC.
Harbir Kaur and her husband, Gurvinder Singh, initiated legal proceedings after Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi refused, in December 2020, to release the sperm stored in its fertility lab.
Their 30-year-old son, Preet Inder Singh, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in June 2020 and admitted for treatment.
“Before he began chemotherapy, the hospital advised him to store his semen as the treatment could adversely affect the quality of his sperm,” Gurvinder Singh explained. Preet Inder, who was unmarried, agreed, and his sperm sample was frozen on June 27, 2020.
He passed away in early September of the same year.
Months later, when the grieving parents sought access to the sperm, the hospital denied their request, prompting the couple to turn to the Delhi High Court.
In their plea, the couple, now in their 60s, assured the court that they would raise any child born using their son’s sperm, and in the event of their death, their two daughters had undertaken responsibility for the child.
Justice Prathiba Singh ruled that under Indian law, there is no prohibition against posthumous reproduction if consent has been given by the sperm donor.
She noted that, in the absence of a spouse or children, Preet Inder’s parents were entitled to the sperm under the Hindu Succession Act, as they became his legal heirs.
The couple’s desire to use the sperm was driven by their wish to continue their son’s legacy.
Quoting Indian Express on Thursday, Hindustan Times reported that the judge, referencing the Hindu Succession Act, ruled that parents are entitled to their deceased son’s sperm as they are “Class-1 legal heirs.”
“He loved his sisters and was much loved by his friends. He is the screensaver on my phone. I start my day by looking at his face every morning,” Ms Kaur shared while declining to release a photo due to privacy concerns.
The family plans to keep the surrogacy within the family, with a relative offering to be the surrogate. Under Indian law, commercial surrogacy is illegal.
According to their lawyer, Suruchii Aggarwal, while the case is rare, it is not without precedent.
Meanwhile, TodaysFamilyLawyer on Thursday reported that last week, the judge ruled in favour of the couple, stating that “Indian law does not prohibit posthumous reproduction if the deceased has given consent.”
She acknowledged that “as Preet was unmarried and had no children, his parents became his legal heirs under the Hindu Succession Act and were entitled to access the sperm sample.”