No law to release dead man's semen sample, HC told

New Delhi, February 6

Can frozen semen sample of an unmarried deceased male be handed over to his parents or legal heirs?

Faced with the tricky question, a Delhi hospital has told the Delhi High Court that there is no law in India to release of the frozen semen sample.

In an affidavit filed in the high court, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said the ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) regulations in the Central government’s gazette didn’t specify the procedure of disposal or utilisation of semen sample of an unmarried person who has died.

The affidavit came in response to a petition by a couple seeking directions for the release of the frozen semen sample of their deceased son from a centre at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

The high court had asked the hospital and Delhi Government to respond to a petition raising this important question in December last year. —