Delhi High Court Grants Sperm Use for Surrogacy

An Indian couple, Harbir Kaur and Gurvinder Singh, have won a legal battle allowing them to access their deceased son's frozen sperm, enabling them to have a grandchild through surrogacy. The landmark decision by the Delhi High Court followed a four-year legal struggle after Ganga Ram Hospital initially refused to release the semen stored prior to their son Preet Inder Singh's chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The court ruled that there is no legal prohibition against posthumous reproduction if the sperm owner has given consent, and since Preet Inder was unmarried and without children, his parents were deemed his legal heirs. The couple expressed their intent to raise any child born from the sperm, with their daughters agreeing to take responsibility in case of the couple's death. Justice Prathiba Singh emphasized that the law supports their case under the Hindu Succession Act, despite opposition from the hospital and the Indian government, which argued that surrogacy laws were meant for infertile couples. The couple described the court's decision as a 'precious gift' that allows them to carry on their son's legacy.