An elderly Indian couple has won a groundbreaking court battle for the right to use their deceased son’s frozen sperm to have a grandchild through surrogacy, following a four-year legal fight against a Delhi hospital.
The Delhi High Court ordered Ganga Ram Hospital to release the preserved semen sample to Harbir Kaur and Gurvinder Singh, who lost their 30-year-old unmarried son to blood cancer in 2020. The ruling establishes a significant precedent in India regarding posthumous reproduction rights.
“We were very unlucky, we lost our son. But the court has given us a very precious gift,” Kaur told the BBC. The couple, both in their 60s, sees this as an opportunity to continue their son’s legacy.
The case began when their son, Preet Inder Singh, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in June 2020. Before starting chemotherapy, doctors advised him to preserve his sperm due to potential treatment effects. He complied, storing his sample on June 27, 2020, but died that September.
When the grieving parents requested access to the preserved sample, the hospital refused, citing lack of clear guidelines for releasing genetic material to anyone other than a spouse. The Indian government opposed the petition, pointing to restrictions in India’s surrogacy laws and the absence of explicit consent from the deceased.
Justice Prathiba Singh’s ruling noted that “under Indian law, there was no prohibition against posthumous reproduction” when consent exists. The court determined that as legal heirs under the Hindu Succession Act, the parents were entitled to the sample in the absence of a spouse or children.
The couple’s lawyer, Suruchii Aggarwal, successfully argued that her client had implicitly consented to reproductive use of his sample through the preservation paperwork, which included both his and his father’s contact information. The father had also been paying storage fees to the laboratory.
To address future care concerns, the couple’s two daughters have provided formal undertakings to assume responsibility for any child born through this process. The family has identified a relative willing to serve as surrogate mother, working within India’s laws prohibiting commercial surrogacy.
While rare, the case isn’t without precedent. Similar situations have occurred in Pune, India, where a woman received twin grandchildren using her deceased son’s sperm, and in New York, where parents of a military cadet were granted permission to use their deceased son’s genetic material.
Internationally, posthumous reproduction policies vary widely. While countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Japan permit it with written consent, others including France, Italy, and Sweden prohibit the practice. Most South Asian nations lack specific guidelines.
The ruling provides hope to the grieving parents. “I have prayed every day to fulfil all my child’s unfulfilled desires. It’s taken four years, but my prayers have been answered,” Kaur said.
Editor’s Note: This article is based on reporting by the BBC, including direct interviews with the family and their legal representative. The case was heard in the Delhi High Court, with Justice Prathiba Singh presiding. The ruling was issued in December 2024.