Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan did not break surrogacy laws: Tamil Nadu government

Popular actress Nayanthara and filmmaker Vignesh Shivan got married earlier this year in traditional ceremonies. Over a month ago, the couple announced that the actor-director pair welcomed twin boys – Uyir and Ulagham – via surrogacy. This created headlines and raised concerns over the legality of surrogacy. It was reported that commercial surrogacy was banned in India in January. Following these concerns, an investigation team was set up by the Tamil Nadu government and now, they have been cleared of all charges. The government stated that the pair did not break any surrogacy laws.

A three-member committee was formed by the TN government to investigate if Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan had violated India’s surrogacy law. The couple registered their marriage in 2016 and officially tied the knot in 2022. The report stated that the surrogate mother was of an appropriate age, was married and had a child. “On investigating the doctor who provided treatment to the couple, it was discovered that the couple’s family doctor had provided a letter of recommendation in 2020 based on which treatment was provided,” the Health and Family Welfare Department said, as per a report in The News Minute. However, the team wasn’t able to investigate the family doctor of the couple as they had shifted to another country and wasn’t reachable by phone as well.

The report further said that the “treatment records of the patient (Nayanthara’s) oocytes (a cell in the ovary that may divide to form an ovum) were not maintained properly by the private hospital. It added that the surrogate mother entered into an agreement with the couple in November 2021 and the embryo was placed in the surrogate mother in March 2022. The surrogate mother gave birth to the twin boys in October 2022.” The investigating team found discrepancies in the fertility clinic which did not maintain proper records of the treatment offered to the couple. The team took action against the clinic and closed it temporarily.