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Indian actress Nayanthara and her filmmaker husband Vignesh Shivan have been courting controversy ever since they announced the arrival of their twin boys.
Nayanthara and Vignesh married earlier in June this year and welcomed twin boys earlier this week. While the couple announced the happy news on social media, speculations are rife that the couple opted for surrogacy. Commercial surrogacy is banned in India.
Now, on Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu health minister stated that the ministry would examine the matter after he was probed by reporters at an event.
“According to norms, those aged 21 years and under the age of 36 can donate oocytes (ova or eggs). We presume this could have been done that way… director of health services will be asked to examine if it was done according to norms,” said state health minister MA Subramanian when asked to comment on the matter.
Vignesh had shared the news of the birth of the twins with a photo of the couple kissing the feet of the two boys.
“Nayan & Me have become Amma & Appa. We are blessed with Twin Baby Boys,” tweeted Vignesh along with the photo. “All Our prayers,our ancestors’ blessings combined with 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,” the tweet further read.
Now a day after controversy erupted over surrogacy, Vignesh posted a cryptic tweet, without addressing the issue.
Vignesh took to Instagram stories to share a photo with the caption that read as, “Everything comes to you in the right moment. Be patient. Be grateful.”
What is the law around surrogacy in India?
For many years, foreign couples opted for surrogacy in India due to its good and affordable medical system. Over the years, the government has put restrictions on the practice with the stated aim of regulation. Commercial surrogacy is not allowed in the country anymore.
The law only allows for surrogacy to be available for infertile Indian married couples.
Surrogacy is defined by law as “a practice whereby one woman bears and gives birth to a child for an intending couple” and intends to hand over the child to them after the birth, as per The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 (SRA).
However, the surrogacy law in India was amended in January to ensure it is not commercially exploited. It is now being speculated that Nayanthara and her husband may have conceived the babies before the law was amended.
