One more couple moved the Madras High Court on Wednesday, challenging the Constitutional validity of Section 21(g) of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act of 2021 which states that only women between 21 and 50 years of age and men between 21 and 55 years of age can avail of assisted reproductive technology (ART) services.
A First Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice T. Raja and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy heard their writ petition along with a similar case filed by another couple last month, and passed interim orders for cryopreserving the male partners’ semen until the cases could be decided after hearing the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
The new writ petition was filed by a 60 -year-old man and his 35-year-old wife, while the earlier petition had been filed by a 58-year-old person who had married a 49-year-old woman. Both couples complained that they were unable to have a child through ART because of the upper age limit of 55 years fixed for the male partner.
The petitioners’ counsel brought it to the notice of the court that the Kerala High Court and the Calcutta High Court had passed interim orders in favour of similar couples and hence, identical relief might be granted to these couples too, until the court takes a final decision on their writ petitions after ordering notice to the Centre.
The Division Bench accepted their request and ordered notices to the Centre returnable by the third week of June.
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