Mumbai: About three years after their son was born in India through surrogacy, a non-resident Indian couple can finally take him with them to Australia, where they live on a permanent visa. The Bombay City Civil Court on August 2 issued an order declaring the couple as biological and legal parents of the child and allowed them to take him from the surrogate mother’s custody.
The couple alleged that the surrogate mother did not cooperate in completing the paperwork to enable them to take the child to Australia.
The civil court judge Shaikh Akbar Shaikh Jafar, while allowing the plea observed, “There is no specific legislation/law in which the plaintiffs (the couple) may seek a declaration regarding the surrogacy process in India. However, there are the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Academy of Medical Sciences. According to the national guidelines for accreditation/supervision of ART Clinics, 2005 by ICMR / NAMS, the surrogate mother is not considered to be the legal mother.”
The couple had approached the city civil court on May 26 seeking a declaration that they are the biological parents of the baby boy born through surrogacy. The couple also prayed for permission to move the child from India to Australia permanently in the capacity of his biological parents.
During the hearing, the couple’s lawyers Shubhangi Vaidya and Sanjay Sawant submitted that the agreement between the couple and surrogate mother was signed on March 7, 2019. The couple claimed that they also paid for all expenses and gave financial support to the mother during the period.
On October 30, 2019, the child was born to the surrogate mother. The couple had to take the child back to Australia with them for which they needed to prepare several legal documents. The couple claimed that though the surrogate mother had earlier agreed to co-operate the formalities, she did not complete the paperwork and therefore they could not take the child with them to Australia and the boy remained with the surrogate mother, here in Mumbai.
Before the court, the surrogate mother gave no objection to granting of declaration as sought by the NRI couple and also to taking the child to Australia.
The court, considering the no objection given by the surrogate mother, allowed the plea of the couple and declared them the biological parents of the child and also gave them permission to take him with them.
