Bombay HC Rules in Favour of Surrogate Mother Who Conceives Twins Through Sister's Eggs

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday addressed a complex legal issue regarding the maternal rights of twin girls born through surrogacy. The case involved a 42-year-old woman seeking to reunite with her 5-year-old daughters, who were conceived using her husband’s sperm and her younger sister’s egg. The twins live with their father and the egg donor, the petitioner’s sister.

The petitioner’s husband argued that his sister-in-law, as the egg donor, should be recognised as the biological mother of the twins, excluding his wife from any rights. However, Justice Milind Jadhav dismissed this claim, stating that while the petitioner’s younger sister is the egg donor, she does not have the legal right to be considered the biological mother of the twins.

The court clarified that the role of the petitioner’s sister was limited to donating the egg, making her a genetic mother but not a legal mother. The amicus curiae assisting the court noted that the surrogacy agreement, signed in 2018, predates the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021. Therefore, the guidelines from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) issued in 2005 apply to this case.

Petitioner Confirmed as Legal Mother

The court ruled that, according to the legal guidelines, the twin girls are legally recognised as the daughters of the petitioner and her husband. The petition revealed that the couple, unable to conceive naturally, relied on the petitioner’s sister, who voluntarily donated her eggs.

The surrogate mother conceived in December 2018, with the twin girls being born in August 2019. In April 2019, the egg donor and her family were involved in a tragic road accident that resulted in the deaths of her husband and daughter.

The petitioner lived with her husband and twin daughters from August 2019 until March 2021. After a marital dispute in March 2021, the husband relocated to a new apartment with the children, without notifying his wife. He later claimed that his sister-in-law, the egg donor, had fallen into depression following the road accident and had moved in with him to help care for the twins.

The petitioner filed a police complaint and sought interim visitation rights with her daughters through a local court. After the local court denied her application in September 2023, she escalated the matter to the High Court.