Overview
- A division bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia issued notice to the Centre, the Health Ministry and the National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board.
- The PIL by IVF specialist Dr. Aniruddha Narayan Malpani challenges Sections 25(2), 27(5), 28(2), 29 and Rule 13(1)(a) of the ART Act, 2021 for effectively prohibiting embryo adoption.
- The petition contends embryo adoption is functionally equivalent to double-donor IVF, so treating it differently violates Article 14 and infringes reproductive autonomy under Article 21.
- Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy argued the prohibition undercuts the statute’s anti-exploitation purpose and amounts to a legislative inconsistency.
- Counsel said a similar 2024 plea led to administrative representations that were ultimately rejected, which prompted the renewed court challenge.