Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has directed a Mumbai-based fertility clinic to preserve the frozen semen of a 21-year-old unmarried man who died of cancer, while hearing a petition filed by his mother seeking access to the sample to continue the family lineage.
Justice Manish Pitale passed the interim order on June 25, stating that if the semen is destroyed during the pendency of the petition, the entire purpose of the plea would be defeated. The court directed the clinic — Nova IVF Fertility Centre — to ensure the sample remains safely stored until the next hearing on July 30.
The young man had preserved his semen while undergoing chemotherapy, but in his consent form, he selected the option for the sample to be discarded in the event of his death. After he passed away on February 16, 2025, his 52-year-old mother approached the clinic requesting transfer of the sample to a Gujarat-based IVF facility. The clinic refused, citing the consent form and the provisions of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and asked her to obtain a court order.
The mother claimed her son had signed the form without consulting the family. She said the form offered only two options — to discard the sample or hand it over to a spouse. Since her son was unmarried, he selected the discard option by default.
Her plea highlighted that her family now comprises only female members. Her husband and son’s uncle had both died young. The petition also quoted her son’s dying wish to his aunt: “Do something with the sperm and create my children who would take care of my mom and family.”
The petition argued that sperm constitutes property and that the parents, as legal heirs, have a right to it.
The court noted the matter raised important legal questions regarding posthumous reproduction and gamete preservation under the ART Act. The government’s advocate referred to a similar case before the Delhi High Court in 2024, where the parents of a deceased unmarried man were allowed access to his frozen semen despite a discard instruction.
