The Supreme Court on Thursday (August 14) restrained the Rajasthan police from taking into its custody 20-day-old surrogate baby Manji from her Japanese grandmother. A Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and S H Kapadia directed that the baby will remain in the custody of her grandmother Emiko Yamada.
Yamada had to rush to the apex court on behalf of Manji after learning from media reports that the Rajasthan High Court had directed the state police to produce the baby before it within four weeks. The urgent hearing took place at the residence of Justice Pasayat as it was a court holiday today.
The Bench issued notices to the Centre and Jaipur-based NGO, Satya, on whose petition the High Court had passed the order and posted the matter for further hearing on August 20. Yamada's petition filed through advocate Navin R Nath, sought direction for the Centre to issue travel documents so that baby Maji could be taken to Japan.
The court also sought response from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) as Yamada's lawyer contended that the national guidelines for accreditation, supervision and regulation of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies) clinics considers the baby as legitimate child of the biological father.
The High Court had passed the directions to the Rajasthan Police as the NGO had filed an habeaus corpus petition for the production of the child. The NGO had contended that in the absence of a surrogacy law in the country, the legitimacy of the baby cannot be claimed by anyone. (PTI)