Judge declares Plaintiff to be the legal parent of the child for all intents and purposes
New Delhi:
A Delhi court has allowed a petition seeking a decree of declaration in favor of a married NRI couple, declaring them to be the legal parents of a surrogate child.
The court also held that the surrogate mother and her husband (respondent) had no parental rights over the child, and restrained them from violating the terms of the gestational surrogacy agreement.
The court was hearing a suit filed by the plaintiffs (NRI couple) who entered into a settlement with the defendants on August 28, 2019 and approached the court on the apprehension that the defendants may claim custody of the child in future .
“Thus, taking into account the submissions in the matter, materials of the written statement, cross-examination of Prosecution Witness 1 (NRI husband), guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the 228th Law Commission Report, I administrative civil “I am of the considered opinion that the plaintiff is entitled to the relief of declaration and injunction,” Justice Deepak Vats said in a recent judgment.
The judge declared the plaintiffs to be the legal or natural parents of the boy for all intents and purposes and also passed a permanent or permanent injunction restraining the defendants from acting in breach of the agreement.
The court noted that in addition to not objecting to the trial’s decision in favor of the plaintiff, the defendants did not claim any rights over the child. It said that the surrogacy agreement in the present case was entered into before the enactment of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021.
The court noted, as per the 228th report of the Law Commission, the National Guidelines for Recognition, Supervision and Regulation of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) clinics were developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Academy of Medical Sciences in 2005. (NAMS).
The court noted that the guidelines stated that the surrogate mother was not the legal mother and the birth certificate had to be made in the name of the genetic parent.
The court said, “Therefore, it is clear that at the time of the settlement in question in the present case there was no law governing surrogacy in India, however, guidelines issued by the ICMR regulated the surrogacy system in India.”
The court noted that the guidelines clearly provide that the child shall be deemed to be the legitimate child of the couple, born within the wedlock, and shall have all rights of parentage, inheritance and support.
“In the present case, all the parties were competent to contract and there is no objection to the agreement by the defendants, therefore, the agreement entered into between the parties in this case is legal and enforceable,” the court said.
The court also took note of the written statements of the defendants, according to which they had fulfilled their obligations under the agreement by handing over the child to the plaintiff and that for all intents and purposes the child was the child of the plaintiff.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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