Supreme Court Rules Age Limit Bar Under Surrogacy Act Not Applicable to Frozen Embryos Before 2022

The Supreme Court held that the age restrictions under Section 4(iii)(c)(I) of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, do not apply to couples who had embryos frozen prior to the Act coming into force.

The Bench observed that applying the age limit retrospectively would violate reproductive rights and legitimate expectations of such couples.

The Court clarified that these rights had crystallised under the previous legal framework and directed affected couples to approach their respective High Courts for permission to proceed based on the earlier rules.

[Arun Muthuvel v Union of India and connected cases]