Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court has paved the way for an ageing couple to try for parenthood again, directing authorities to permit them to undergo IVF after they were earlier turned away under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021.The couple approached the court after being denied permission on the ground that one partner had crossed the maximum age limit set under the law. They are seeking IVF following the death of their 25-year-old son in 2022. Their son, a medical student at Jaipur National University Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, died by suicide. The couple, shaken by the loss, later decided to try for another child.Because the woman is menopausal and cannot conceive naturally, they went to an ART clinic in Mahesana, where the doctor declined to take up the case, citing the Act’s age limits—21 to 50 years for women and 21 to 55 years for men. The wife is over 50, while the husband is 54.The couple then applied to the district medical officer on May 31 for permission, but the request was rejected on July 3 due to the age bar. They moved the High Court, where their counsel, Mohit Banker, argued that eligibility should be assessed case-by-case and that if either partner falls within the statutory age bracket, access to treatment should not be blocked. The petitioners also relied on earlier judgments supporting their position.Govt authorities opposed the plea, but their counsel did not contest the legal proposition raised.After hearing the matter, Justice Nirzar Desai said, “On perusal of the record, I find that petitioner No. 1 (wife) has crossed the age of 50 years, which is the maximum age limit prescribed under Section 21(g) of the Act, whereas petitioner No. 2 is 54 years of age and, therefore, falls within the eligibility criteria for undergoing IVF treatment.”
