Saket Court Orders FIR Against South Delhi Hospital Over Surrogacy Fraud Allegations
The Saket Court in South Delhi ordered the registration of an FIR against SCI International Hospital after a Delhi-NCR couple alleged they were misled during a surrogacy process. The couple claimed they were denied access to the surrogate mother, told that one of their twins had died, and presented with a surviving baby boy whom they suspect is not biologically theirs.
The couple, who married in 2015 and are in their 40s, approached the hospital in South Delhi in 2020 after being informed that the wife was unlikely to conceive through in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The hospital arranged a surrogate mother and subsequently informed the couple that she was pregnant with twins.
According to the couple's allegations, they were barred from meeting the surrogate mother during the early months of the pregnancy and were denied permission to conduct an independent ultrasound. When they were shown a photograph of the surrogate on February 25, 2021, they noted she looked around 40 years old, though hospital officials claimed she was 30. In July 2021, when they finally met her, they alleged she had no visible baby bump despite reportedly being five months pregnant.
On August 22, 2021, the hospital informed the couple that the surrogate had delivered twins. They were told the baby girl was stillborn and her body had already been disposed of, while the surviving baby boy was placed under observation. The couple was denied the opportunity to see the deceased child or meet the surrogate mother, who the hospital claimed had already left.
Represented by advocate Amit Kain, the couple approached the court, alleging that the hospital conspired to cheat them and tried to impose a child on them who was not theirs. On December 16, 2024, Judicial Magistrate First Class Devanshi Janmeja of the Saket Court ordered the Greater Kailash-1 police station to register an FIR, stating that the facts suggested cheating, forgery, and a potential commercial surrogacy racket. The FIR was registered on December 18, 2024.
Following the order, SCI International Hospital approached the Sessions Court. On January 22, 2025, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh of the Saket Court ordered that no coercive action be taken against the hospital until further orders. The hospital has maintained that the surrogate delivered a stillborn female child and a surviving male child, and claimed that the couple refused to take custody of the surviving baby.
