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Kerala High Court Appoints Amicus Curiae In Petitions Challenging Age Limit Under Assisted Reproductive Technology Act

Athira Prasad

14 Nov 2022 2:08 PM GMT

    • Kerala High Court Appoints Amicus Curiae In Petitions Challenging Age Limit Under Assisted Reproductive Technology Act

    The Kerala High Court on Monday appointed an amicus curiae to assist the court in a batch of petitions challenging the upper age limit under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021. By virtue of Section 21(g) of the ART Act, the maximum age for men has been prescribed as 55 years, and the age limit prescribed for women is 50 years.Justice VG Arun appointed Advocate...

    The Kerala High Court on Monday appointed an amicus curiae to assist the court in a batch of petitions challenging the upper age limit under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021. By virtue of Section 21(g) of the ART Act, the maximum age for men has been prescribed as 55 years, and the age limit prescribed for women is 50 years.

    Justice VG Arun appointed Advocate Ramola Nayampally as amicus curiae in the matter. 

    The petitions pending before the court are seeking a declaration that Sub-Clause (g) of Section 21 of ART Act, to the extent it prescribes the maximum age for men and women for seeking ART services from licensed clinics, is unconstitutional. 

    The Court last month in the matter passed an interim order allowing a 61-year-old to cryo-preserve his sperm, considering the fact that he was suffering from a rare cardiac condition. An interlocutory application was moved in that petition, seeking permission to allow the clinic to retrieve and store the semen of the husband during the pendency of the matter. 

    It had allowed the hospital where the couple was seeking treatment to extract and cryopreserve the petitioner's semen following the prescribed procedure.

    "It is made clear that the above direction is issued under the special circumstances pointed out by the petitioners and without going into the merits of the contentions. The petitioners' right to continue the assisted reproductive treatment services will depend upon the outcome of this writ petition," the Court had said in the order.

    The matter has been posted for November 23 for further consideration. 

    Case Title: P. Sheeba Paul v. Union of India & Ors. and Connected Cases 

    Tags
    Kerala High CourtJustice V G ArunAssisted Reproductive Technology(Regulation) Act 2021
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