The Bombay High Court on 4 November 2026, in 2026:BHC-AS:45246-DB, directed issuance of a surrogacy eligibility certificate to anonymised petitioners X-1 and X-2 despite the wife exceeding 50.
Judge / Bench — Bharati Dangre, Judge (author); Ashish S. Chavan, Judge.
Reading the ART and surrogacy statutes together, it relied on the husband remaining within the age bracket. Medical certification remained conditional on statutory requirements. It left constitutional validity undecided and refused a stay.
Advocates appearing — Petitioners: Utkarsh R. Pondkule with Jagdish Deore, Akshay Desai. Respondent 1/Union: Anil C. Singh, Additional Solicitor General, with Savita Ganoo, Krishnakant Deshmukh, Aadarsh Vyas; Mr. Mehta (full name not recorded). State/respondents 3,4,6: Ketan V. Joshi, B Panel Counsel, with A.A. Alaspurkar, AGP. Respondent 5: Chaitrali Deshmukh. Amicus: Sharan Jagtiani, Senior Advocate, with Surabhi Agrawal, Siddharth Joshi, Avanti Divan. Respondent 2: Not named in the judgment/order.