Bombay High Court Protects Deceased Man’s Semen Sample Amid Legal Battle by Mother

Mumbai, 27th June 2025: In a significant interim order, the Bombay High Court has directed Nova IVF Fertility Centre in Mumbai to preserve the semen sample of a deceased 21-year-old man, following a plea from his mother seeking access to it for future use.

Justice R.N. Laddha, while hearing the petition on Thursday, emphasized the urgency of the matter. “If the semen is destroyed during the legal proceedings, it would completely defeat the purpose of the petition,” the court observed, ordering the fertility clinic to maintain the sample’s safety and storage until the case is resolved.

The case involves a young cancer patient who had frozen his semen prior to beginning chemotherapy, following medical advice due to the fertility risks associated with treatment. However, he had opted for the sample to be destroyed in the event of his death — a decision made without his family’s knowledge, according to the petition.

After the man passed away on February 16, his mother contacted the IVF centre on February 24 and 26, urging them not to discard the sample and instead facilitate its transfer to a Gujarat-based clinic for possible future use. On February 27, Nova IVF denied her request, citing the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act and its rules, which require judicial authorization in such cases.

The matter escalated after the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on May 6, turned down the mother’s plea. Earlier, the Maharashtra Public Health Department had suggested she approach the national ART board.

Left with no option, she moved the High Court through her lawyers, Nikhilesh Pote and Tanmay Jadhav. Her petition argues that she wishes to preserve her family lineage, especially since her immediate family consists solely of female members. Her husband had died at 45, and her brother-in-law at just 21. Now, having lost her only son, she hopes to continue the family name through his semen.

The petition adds that while her son was critically ill, he had allegedly expressed to his aunt a desire to have children posthumously. “Use my sperm to bring my children into this world. They will care for my mother and our family,” he reportedly told her.

The legal filing also claims that semen is considered personal property and, as per legal norms, parents are the rightful heirs of such biological material after a person’s death.
The semen sample, according to the documents, was set to be preserved only until July 31. The court’s directive ensures its retention for now, offering a brief window for the ongoing legal process to determine the next steps.