Erode Egg Donation: Madras HC Allows To Reopen Fertility Clinic Sealed By TN Govt

Erode Egg Donation: The HC gave the order after counsel representing the hospital submitted that the fertility centre accepted the donation only by believing that particulars in Aadhaar were true.

Madras High Court

Source : ABP Nadu

Chennai: The Madras High Court on Thursday instructed Tamil Nadu government to remove the seal of a private hospital in Erode that retrieved the oocytes of a 16-year-old girl. On July 14, Tamil Nadu government ordered the closure of four fertility hospitals where a minor girl was forced by her parents to donate her oocytes. 

On Thursday, a plea moved by Erode-based Sudha Hospitals seeking to quash the seal order by the health department as no legal justifications were provided at the time of sealing the fertility center came up for hearing. 

According to a report on Times of India, the case came up for hearing before the bench of Justice Abdul Quddhose who said the officials did not issue the notice as per the relevant acts.

The counsel representing the hospital, senior advocate AL Somayaji and advocate VP Sengottuvel, submitted that by accepting the oocytes the hospital did not violate any law. The hospital accepted the donation only by believing that the particulars in the Aadhaar submitted by the donor were true. However, only now has it come to light that the identity of the donor was fabricated. 

On July 15, the health department sealed and seized 18 ultrasound scan machines. They were also told not to admit any new patients in three hospitals, the submissions said. 

Last month, four persons including the mother and paramour of a 16-year-old girl were arrested for forcing the minor girl to donate oocytes multiple times in hospitals located in Salem Erode, Krishnagiri and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The family forged the Aadhar card of the minor to make it appear like an adult.