The case of Baby Manji Yamada v. Union of India, AIR (2009) SC 84, addressed the legal complexities of cross-border surrogacy. Following the separation of a Japanese couple before the birth of Baby Manji through a surrogacy agreement with an Indian surrogate, the Supreme Court prioritized the child’s welfare, directing the issuance of travel documents for her to join her grandmother in Japan. The Court highlighted the lack of legal frameworks for surrogacy in India and emphasized the role of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. This landmark judgment underscored the need for surrogacy regulation, ultimately influencing the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021.
