eCourtsIndia
IndiaCode Laws
Section22
The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021

Written informed consent

In force From 25 Jan 2022 Act 42 of 2021 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 42 of 2021 Ministry Health and Family Welfare Enacted 18 Dec 2021 In force 25 Jan 2022 Cited by 1 provision Instruments 2

Section 22 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 deals with written informed consent. The clinic shall not perform any treatment or procedure without-- (a) the written informed consent of all the parties seeking assisted reproductive technology; The Act came into force on 25 Jan 2022.

(1) The clinic shall not perform any treatment or procedure without--

(a) the written informed consent of all the parties seeking assisted reproductive technology;

(b) an insurance coverage of such amount as may be prescribed for a period of twelve months in favour of the oocyte donor by the commissioning couple or woman from an insurance company or an agent recognised by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority established under the provisions of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (41 of 1999).

(2) The clinics and banks shall not cryo-preserve any human embryos or gamete, without specific instructions and consent in writing from all the parties seeking assisted reproductive technology, in case of death or incapacity of any of the parties.

(3) The clinic shall not use any human reproductive material, except in accordance with the provisions of this Act to create a human embryo or use an in-vitro human embryo for any purpose without the specific consent in writing of all the concerned persons to whom the assisted reproductive technology relates.

(4) Any of the commissioning couple may withdraw his or her consent under sub-section (1), any time before the human embryos or the gametes are transferred to the concerned woman's uterus.

Explanation. --For the purposes of this section, the expressions--

(i) "cryo-preserve" means the freezing and storing of gametes, zygotes, embryos, ovarian and testicular tissues;

(ii) "insurance" means an arrangement by which a company, individual or commissioning couple undertake to provide a guarantee of compensation for specified loss, damage, complication or death of oocyte donor during the process of oocyte retrieval; and

(iii) "parties" includes the commissioning couple or woman and the donor.

Section 22, The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 (Act 42 of 2021).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

Referred to by 1

  1. s. 42 Power to make rules

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. Mary Josphin Vijila v. Union of India

    High Court 08 Apr 2025 Persuasive (Ker HC) — ART Act s.22 written informed consent; age-eligibility companion to Jessy Joy WP(C) 9289/2025; Final Order 08.04.2025 (C.S. Dias J)

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    Kerala HC held ART Act age criteria are individual-centric: a married woman within s.21(g)(i) may receive IVF/donor-gamete ART even if her husband exceeds s.21(g)(ii), provided he gives written informed consent under s.22(1)(a)/Form 8 acknowledging the child as his legal heir. Parliament consciously omitted composite couple-age limits; clinics cannot invent couple-centric barriers that would discriminate against married women vis-à-vis single women.

    On this section: Applied s.22(1)(a) as the sole husband-side statutory duty (written informed consent) enabling the wife’s ART procedure when the husband is age-ineligible under s.21(g)(ii).

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Made under this section, and citing it

2 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 22

What have the courts held on Section 22 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act?

Mary Josphin Vijila v. Union of India (08 Apr 2025) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Applied s.22(1)(a) as the sole husband-side statutory duty (written informed consent) enabling the wife’s ART procedure when the husband is age-ineligible under s.21(g)(ii).

How do I find court cases under Section 22 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 22, section 22 Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, section 22 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Mary Josphin Vijila v. Union of India (08 Apr 2025).

What should I read with Section 22 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, and has it changed?

1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. 2 instruments name it without being made under it, most recently ART (Regulation) amendment Rules, 2022 (2022), then ART Rules 2022 (2022).

When did Section 22 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act come into force?

Section 22 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, cited as Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 22, came into force on 25 Jan 2022, having been enacted on 18 Dec 2021. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.