From Heartbreak to the Halls of Justice

Faced with the prospect of their dream dying in a freezer, the couples decided to fight back. They were not activists or legal scholars; they were ordinary people driven by an extraordinary desire to become parents. They pooled their resources, found legal counsel, and took their case to the highest court in the land: the Supreme Court of India.

Their argument was simple and profoundly human: the law was being applied unfairly. They contended that their surrogacy journey had not just been planned; it had commenced. The creation of the embryo, they argued, was the definitive step. At that moment, they had acquired a "vested right" to see the process through to its conclusion. To apply the new age limit to them retrospectively was to punish them for circumstances beyond their control—the delays of a global pandemic and the slow-turning wheels of bureaucracy.

The legal battle was complex, hinging on intricate interpretations of legislative intent and constitutional rights. But at its core, it was a story the judges could understand. Before them were not just petitioners in a writ, but people whose lives hung in the balance. The couples' plea echoed a fundamental principle: the right to build a family is an integral part of human dignity.

The Supreme Court listened. In a series of hearings, the justices delved deep into the emotional and legal fabric of the case. They recognized that the Act, in its attempt to regulate, had inadvertently created a class of citizens who were left without a remedy.

A Victory for Parenthood and Justice

On October 9, 2025, the Supreme Court delivered its landmark judgment. The verdict was a resounding victory for the couples. The Court, led by Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice K.V. Viswanathan, affirmed that the age restriction could not be applied retrospectively to those who had already taken the irreversible step of creating and freezing their embryos before the Act came into force.