In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday clarified the application of age restrictions under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 . The top court ruled that the age limits for intending parents will not apply retrospectively to couples who had begun the surrogacy process before the Act came into effect on January 25, 2022.

While delivering the verdict, Justice BV Nagarathna emphasised that prior to the 2021 Act, there were no binding statutory age restrictions on couples seeking surrogacy.

Many couples had already frozen embryos or taken steps indicating intent to pursue surrogacy when the new law was enacted.

The top court recognised these couples’ vested rights and parental autonomy, ruling that applying the age bar retrospectively would frustrate these rights.

The v

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