Bombay HC: Sperm or egg donor doesn't have legal right on child

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has ruled that a sperm or egg donor does not have legal rights over a child and cannot claim to be the biological parent. It has granted a woman visitation rights to her five-year-old twin daughters, born through surrogacy.
The woman, aged 42, had filed a petition seeking visitation rights, stating that her daughters lived with her estranged husband and her younger sister, who had donated the eggs.The husband argued that because his sister-in-law was the egg donor, she had the legitimate right to be considered the biological parent, while his wife had no such right. Justice Milind Jadhav dismissed the argument, clarifying that although the wife's sister donated the eggs, it did not grant her the status of a biological parent. HC noted that the sister's role was limited to being a voluntary egg donor, which at best could make her a genetic mother, not legal parent.
An advocate appointed to assist the court explained that since the couple's surrogacy agreement occurred in 2018, before the enactment of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021, the case would be governed by the 2005 guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). According to these guidelines, the donor and the surrogate mother must relinquish all parental rights. Therefore, the court determined that the twins are the legal daughters of the petitioner and her husband. "Under the guideline, it is clearly stated that the (egg) donor shall not have parental rights or duties," the court said.
The petitioner's plea highlighted that after the twins were born in August 2019, she lived with them until March 2021. Following a marital dispute, her husband moved to a separate residence with the children. He claimed that the egg donor, his wife's sister, had been living with him due to depression after an accident and was caring for the twins.
The high court overturned the lower court's decision, which had denied the petitioner visitation rights, and directed the husband to allow her physical access to the twins for three hours every weekend.
Agencies