New Delhi: Even as the probe into whether Tamil cinema's celebrity couple -- actress Nayanthara and director Vignesh Shivan -- had violated surrogacy laws to become parents of two baby boys born earlier this month, unconfirmed media reports claimed that the couple in an affidavit had submitted that they got married six years ago.
The reports claimed that in the affidavit submitted to the Tamil Nadu Health Department, the couple said that the surrogate mother who gave birth to the children was a relative of Nayanthara and that she was based out of Dubai.
The couple is also believed to have said that they got their marriage registered six years ago.
When Vignesh Shivan, whose grand wedding with Nayanthara on June 9 this year made headlines, announced on October 9 that Nayanthara and he had turned parents, it raised eyebrows. Vignesh took to social media to share the good news with their fans. Vignesh posted a series of pictures and wrote, “Nayan & Me have become Amma & Appa. We are blessed with Twin Baby Boys. All Our prayers, our ancestors’ blessings combined wit all the good manifestations made, have come 2gethr in the form Of 2 blessed babies for us. Need all ur blessings for our Uyir & Ulagam Life looks brighter & more beautiful. God is double great.”
Health Minister Ma Subramanian of Tamil Nadu has promised to probe the couple about whether or not they followed surrogacy regulations. He said, "The surrogacy itself is subjected to a lot of debates. But, the law allows individuals to involve in surrogacy if they are above 21 years and below 36 years of age, with the approval of the family."
For the unversed, commercial surrogacy is illegal in India. Surrogate mothers and intended parents must meet several requirements before proceeding with a surrogacy arrangement. Both parties need to have Indian ancestry, have been married for at least five years, and not have any children of their own, whether via birth, adoption, or surrogacy.
This year, a law was passed that said only altruistic surrogacy would be allowed, and the parents would not have to pay for anything other than the surrogate's medical costs and insurance coverage.
Now this latest piece of information, if found factual, is bound to answer a lot of questions that were raised at the time of the birth of the twins.