The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the age ceilings of 50 and 55 years on couples intending to have children through surrogacy would not apply to those who had begun the process before the age bar was implemented on January 25, 2022.

Separate but concurring judgments by the bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice K.V. Viswanathan upheld the separate pleas moved by three couples against the retrospective application of the age-limit legislation against them.

“Thus, if an intending couple had — (i) commenced the surrogacy procedure prior to the commencement of the Act i.e., 25.01.2022; and (ii) were at the stage of creation of embryos and freezing after extraction of gametes; and (iii) on the threshold of transfer of embryos to the uterus of the surrogate mother)… the age restriction… would not apply,” the court said.

However, the bench clarified that it had not delved into the constitutional validity of the Act.