HC confers Indian citizenship on twins fathered through surrogacy

The two boys — Balaz Nikolas and Balaz Leonard,whose father is a German national,Jan Balaz — were conceived by an Indian surrogate mother,Marthaben Immanuel Khristi,in Anand in January 2008. An unidentified woman from India had donated the ova,which were fertilised with the sperm of Jan Balaz. The fertilised embryo was implanted at an assisted reproduction clinic in Anand.

Balaz had opted for the latest reproductive scientific technology after realising that his wife — Susanne Anna Lohle — was biologically unable to conceive. Balaz and his wife had also entered into a surrogacy agreement with Khristi.

After the birth of the two boys,they were issued Indian passports by the authorities. But after learning about Balaz’s foreign nationality and the surrogacy issue,they ordered him to surrender the passports. Aggrieved by the decision,Balaz moved the HC.

The Regional Passport Officer at Ahmedabad had told the court that under the provisions of the Indian Citizenship Act,the boys couldn’t be conferred with Indian citizenship since they were born out of surrogacy. However,the petitioner’s lawyer — Dhaval Dave — strongly contended that the boys are born in India through surrogacy. And since they have been born to a surrogate mother who herself is an Indian national,they are entitled to Indian citizenship.

Announcing the verdict,the division bench comprising Chief Justice K S Radhakrishnan and Justice A S Dave observed,“…lot of legal,moral and ethical issues arise for our consideration in this case,which have no precedents in this country.”

Raising a lot of questions related to surrogacy,the bench observed,“We are primarily concerned with the rights of two newborn,innocent babies,much more than the rights of the biological parents,surrogate mother,or the donor of the ova. Emotional and legal relationship of the babies with the surrogate mother and the donor of the ova is also of vital importance.”

After considering the case laws related to surrogacy of countries like Ukraine,Japan and the US,the court decided the case at hand by inclining to recognise the surrogate mother as the natural mother of the children. And since the woman is Indian,the children were granted Indian citizenship under the legal provisions.