SUPREME COURT FRAMED ISSUES TO CONSIDER, HEARING IN JULY 2024: CHALLENGE TO SURROGACY LAW

The Supreme Court in the case Arun Muthuvel v. Union of India observed and has elucidated the issues it would be considering in a batch of petitions filed challenging provisions of the Surrogacy, the Regulation Act, 2021 and the Surrogacy, Regulation Rules, 2022.

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The bench comprising of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice AG Masih passed the order recording the issues thus: 1.Whether the prohibition of commercial surrogacy as stated under Section 4(ii) (b) and section 4(ii)(c) of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 is constitutional? 2. Whether the right of a couple to avail surrogacy being restricted to married couples between the age of 23 to 50 years and in case of female and between 26 to 55 years in case of male as it is being provided as stated under Section 4(iii)(c)(I) read with Section 2(1)(h) of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, is constitutional? 3.Whether the right of a single woman to avail surrogacy being restricted to only widows or divorcees between the ages of 35 to 45 years as it is provided being under Section 2(1)(s) of the Surrogacy, the Regulation Act 2021, is constitutional? 4.Whether the right of an intending couple to avail surrogacy being restricted to only those couples who do not have a surviving child as provided as stated under Section 4(iii)(c)(II) of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021, is constitutional? 5.Whether indi