The Calcutta High Court on January 19 ruled that a father does not have any "fundamental right" to collect preserved sperm of his dead son, irrespective of the permission of deceased donor's wife.
The bench of Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya dismissed a petition wherein the petitioner, a father, on the basis of his parental relationship with the deceased, sought permission to collect preserved sperm, reported LiveLaw.
According to the report, the petitioner contended before the court that his son was a patient of Thalassaemia and while in matrimony with his wife, he died. During his lifetime, the deceased had his sperm stored with the St. Stephen Hospital.
After his death, the father approached the hospital where his son's sperm was stored and requested that it be released in his favour on the ground that he shared parental relationship with the donor.
After learning the hospital's requirement to see the permission of the deceased donor's wife, the father urged her to issue a 'no-objection' to him for collecting the aforesaid sperm.
On receiving no response and failing to receive her permission, the father attempted to exercise his right to collect his late son's sperm and approached the court.
In its ruling the court said: "Father-son relationship of the petitioner and the deceased does not entail any such right of the petitioner to the progeny of his son."
Calling the petitioner's right "illusory and non-existent", the court dismissed his plea.