The Bombay High Court has directed a Mumbai-based fertility centre to preserve the frozen semen of a deceased unmarried man, pending the hearing of a plea filed by his mother seeking access to the sample for potential use in assisted reproduction.
The interim order, passed by Justice Manish Pitale on June 25, came in response to the woman’s petition after the fertility clinic declined her request to transfer the frozen sample to a Gujarat-based IVF centre. The clinic cited the deceased man’s prior written consent, which directed that the semen be discarded in the event of his death.
The man, who had been undergoing chemotherapy, had chosen to freeze his semen as a precautionary measure. He passed away in February this year.
The court observed that the petition raised significant questions under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, particularly regarding posthumous use and preservation of genetic material. “If the frozen semen of the deceased is discarded pending hearing of the plea, then it would become infructuous,” the court noted.
“In the meanwhile, as an interim direction, the fertility centre is directed to ensure safe-keeping and storage of the frozen sample of the deceased, during pendency of the petition,” the order stated.
The mother contended in her plea that her son had filled out the consent forms without discussing the matter with family members and that she now wishes to use the sample to continue the family lineage.
The fertility centre, however, maintained that the mother would require judicial authorization under the ART Act, which regulates and supervises assisted reproductive technologies to ensure ethical practices and protect the rights of all parties involved.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for July 30.
