Age limit for IVF in India under the spotlight after 58-year-old gives birth to baby boy

When 60-year-old Balkaur Singh announced the birth of his son on March 17, it set off celebrations beyond just his village of Moosa, in the northern state of Punjab.

- Nirmala Ganapathy

Mr Singh and his wife, Mrs Charan Kaur, 58, had successfully undergone in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) to welcome a baby boy some two years after the violent death of their 28-year-old rapper son, Shubhdeep, popularly known as Sidhu Moose Wala.

Moose Wala, who was the target of a gang-related drive-by shooting near his home in May 2022, was an award-winning artist who blended Punjabi folk songs with Western rap beats to sing about social injustice and love, and also, controversially, about guns and violence.

Fans of the rapper in India and overseas expressed their joy over the birth of the late singer's brother.

However, celebrations over the delivery were dampened as the federal government sought details of the birth to see if any Indian laws had been violated amid a debate on how old is too old to have a baby. At least one fertility specialist said the family should face legal action if they had broken the law.

Under India's Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, only women between the ages of 21 and 50 and men between the ages of 26 and 55 are eligible for IVF treatment in India. A first-time offence attracts a fine of up to one million rupees (S$16,180), but not a jail term.

"We support the government inquiry. This case should become a deterrent. Why have the law otherwise?" asked Dr Ameet Patki, president of the Indian Society For Assisted Reproduction, which has over 4,000 doctors as members.