The Calcutta High Court on Friday allowed a childless elderly couple to conceive a child through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), through assisted reproductive technology, even though the husband crossed the upper age limit of 55 specified in the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021.
The decision was delivered by Justice Amrita Sinha after the couple approached the High Court after being denied permission from the state department.
Despite being married for thirty years, the Kolkata couple had no children. The 48-year-old wife and the 58-year-old husband went to a fertility clinic in the hopes of getting pregnant through IVF. However, the couple was denied IVF by clinic, citing the state health department’s rule that the male partner must be under the age of 55 for such treatments.
With the health department refusing to grant an exception, the couple turned to the Calcutta High Court for relief. In her ruling, Justice Sinha directed the fertility clinic to provide all necessary clinical assistance to the couple and ordered the state health department to extend its full support to facilitate the procedure.
In her ruling, Justice Amrita Sinha stated that “It would be injustice to the woman if she were denied access to ARTS even though she is eligible for it. The wife shouldn’t have to endure her husband’s ineligibility. This is the case since the spouse does not physically participate in any of the ARTS operations that are necessary to deliver the child. Additionally, Justice Sinha stated: “The husband has asserted that he has sufficient financial resources to cover the procedure’s costs. Apart from providing moral and financial support to the wife, the husband hardly has a role to play.”
According to the Act, the service is available to a woman above the age of 21 years and below the age of 50 years and to a man above the age of 21 years and below the age of 55 years. Though the wife-petitioner no. 1 is within the prescribed age limit, the husband failed to meet the age criteria.
“This judgement is not just a ray of hope for this couple but also for many others who have been denied the joy of parenthood due to rigid age limits,” Justice Sinha stated.
