Mumbai: About after three years, a non-resident Indian couple was finally allowed to take their two and a half years old surrogate born in India to Australia. A civil court issued an order declaring the couple as the legal parents of the child, thereby permitting them to leave the country.
The couple alleged that the surrogate refused to cooperate with them when they sought a no-harm certificate to bring their surrogate-born child to the country. According to sources, on March 19, the couple living in Australia entered into a surrogate contract with a woman in India and subsequently gave birth to a son in October 2019.
The parents filed a civil suit after the surrogate refused to issue a no-objection certificate to take the child to Australia. The couple said they needed some documents to complete the visa process for their son. The court in response said that while there is no specific law by which parents can seek a declaration on surrogacy procedures in India, there are guidelines from the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS) for the same.
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"According to national guidelines for accreditation or supervision of ART clinics, surrogate mothers are not considered legal mothers. Thus, the plaintiffs are the biological and genetic parents of the baby and are entitled to custody of the child as well as to take the child from India to Australia," the court said.
The 30-year-old couple told the court that they entered into a surrogacy agreement with the woman in March 2019. They said it was agreed that the couple would be the legal parents of the child and the surrogate would raise no objection. It added that she had voluntarily agreed to conceive, carry and give birth to the child.
The couple further said they provided full financial support to the surrogate during the pregnancy and complied with all the conditions stipulated in the contract. The surrogate gave birth to a boy in October 2019. The couple said they needed to prepare legal documents so they could keep them in Australia, but the woman was uncooperative. So they were forced to file a petition in the court in May this year.
