New Delhi, April 15 (NationPress) The Delhi High Court has granted permission for the wife of an Indian Army soldier who is in a persistent vegetative state to initiate the process of retrieving and cryopreserving his sperm for IVF treatment. The court ruled that the soldier's prior consent to undergo assisted reproductive treatment prior to his accident would fulfill legal requirements.

A single-judge Bench led by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav made this ruling while addressing a plea from the soldier's wife, who requested authorization for the extraction and preservation of her husband’s genetic material following his severe traumatic brain injury caused by a fall during patrol operations in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Delhi High Court clarified that the soldier's earlier agreement to participate in IVF with his wife would be deemed valid under Section 22 of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, even though he is currently unable to give written consent due to his medical condition.

Justice Kaurav stated, "It is deemed fair, reasonable, and just for the involved parties to undertake the necessary steps to pursue the IVF treatment towards its logical conclusion."

The soldier, who enlisted in the Army in 2014, sustained his injury on July 7, 2025, during a patrol in Jammu and Kashmir, after falling from a significant height.

He has remained in a persistent vegetative state with little hope of neurological recovery in the foreseeable future. The couple, married in 2017, had opted for IVF treatment in June 2023 to conceive a child.

During the case, the Army Hospital (R&R) in Delhi Cantonment established a medical board that indicated that while surgical sperm retrieval was possible, the likelihood of obtaining viable sperm was minimal.

The Delhi High Court dismissed objections raised regarding the lack of recent written consent from the soldier, asserting that strict adherence to procedural norms cannot undermine essential reproductive rights.

"The right to reproductive autonomy is a fundamental right. The ART Act should be interpreted in a manner that promotes this right, rather than undermines it," the court noted.

Furthermore, the court stated that failing to recognize the husband’s prior consent for IVF would undermine the very purpose of the treatment.

Regarding the medical board's finding about the low chances of retrieving viable sperm, Justice Kaurav remarked: "The determination of whether the petitioner and her husband can conceive is not within human control. Ultimately, it is destiny that dictates if parenthood will be their fortune."

The Delhi High Court also mandated that the wife's consent be considered valid consent for her husband regarding the IVF process where necessary, emphasizing that authorities cannot deny her treatment solely based on the absence of written consent from her husband. However, the order specifies that the relief is contingent on other legal requirements and the medical state of the soldier. Additionally, the registry was instructed to anonymize the identities of both the petitioner and her husband in the judgment and interim orders.