Why in news?
The Supreme Court on Thursday (October 9, 2025) ruled that the age limits under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, do not apply to couples who had frozen their embryos and initiated the surrogacy process before the law came into force on January 25, 2022.
 
Key Provisions of Surrogacy Act, 2021

• Surrogacy in India is regulated to prevent exploitation and promote ethical, altruistic surrogacy; commercial surrogacy is strictly prohibited.
• Only Indian citizens (or some OCI cardholders), married couples, and women aged 23–50 and men aged 26–55 are eligible (prospective applications only).
• The surrogate mother must be a married woman aged 25–35 years with at least one child.
• The surrogate child is deemed the biological child of the intending couple, with full legal rights.
• Surrogacy clinics must be registered and comply with ethical and legal standards.

Objectives

• Designed to stop the exploitation of women in commercial surrogacy,
• Seeks to uphold dignity and safety of surrogate mothers and children
• Includes provisions for insurance cover, prohibits abandonment.

Recent Amendments (2024 and Onward)

• The rules were amended in 2024 to allow donor gametes if one partner has a certified medical condition—reversing a previous rule that banned all donor gametes except in rare cases.
• This amendment does not permit surrogacy if both partners require donor gametes.
• Commercial surrogacy remains banned and attracts stringent penalties (up to 10 years' imprisonment and ₹10 lakh fine).

The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 marks a significant shift towards ethical, regulated, and socially sensitive surrogacy practices in India, with an emphasis on altruism, prevention of exploitation, and strict eligibility norms.

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