This week in Indian law: The Supreme Court exempted couples with pre-Act embryos from the surrogacy age cap under the Surrogacy Regulation Act 2021. The Court issued interim pedestrian safety guidelines for urban areas. Consultations on transgender employment inclusion guidelines commenced. 10 significant developments this week across family law, urban governance, and constitutional rights.
Top story
SC Exempts Pre-Act Embryo Couples from Surrogacy Age Cap
Category: Family & Matrimonial | Date: 17 October 2025 | Source: Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court granted relief to couples who had created embryos before the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act 2021 came into force, exempting them from the statutory age limit for commissioning surrogacy. The Court observed that couples who had undergone IVF procedures and created viable embryos prior to the Act's commencement had acquired a legitimate expectation of completing the surrogacy process. Applying the age cap retrospectively to these couples would effectively destroy their embryos and violate their reproductive autonomy. The Court directed the regulatory authority to process surrogacy applications from pre-Act embryo couples irrespective of the age cap, subject to other medical and eligibility requirements being satisfied.
Why it matters: The ruling addresses a significant hardship faced by couples caught in the legislative transition. It establishes the principle that reproductive rights established through completed medical procedures cannot be extinguished by subsequent legislation without constitutional justification.
Read more: Veritect analysis
Court judgments
SC Issues Interim Guidelines on Pedestrian Safety
Court: Supreme Court of India | Date: 20 October 2025
The Supreme Court issued interim guidelines directing all state governments and municipal corporations to implement pedestrian safety measures in urban areas. The guidelines mandate the construction and maintenance of adequate sidewalks on all arterial and collector roads, speed reduction zones near schools, hospitals, and markets, properly designed pedestrian crossings with adequate signalling, accessible infrastructure for persons with disabilities and the elderly, and penalties for encroachment on pedestrian pathways. The Court took note of data showing that pedestrians account for a disproportionate share of road fatalities in India and that urban infrastructure planning has systematically deprioritised pedestrian movement.
Key point: Municipal corporations must submit implementation plans within three months; the guidelines apply to all cities with a population exceeding 5 lakh.
Supreme Court of India · Veritect analysis
Also this week
- RBI CRR reduction — Second tranche of the phased CRR cut implemented; banking sector liquidity improving.
- Income-Tax Act 2025 — Tax professionals and law firms conducting internal training sessions on the new statute; CBDT continues issuing transition guidance.
- Online Gaming Act licensing — First batch of license applications received by the regulatory authority.
- SEBI compliance — Mid-size intermediary digital accessibility compliance progressing.
- Diwali green crackers enforcement — Delhi Police implements the SC's firecracker order; violations reported but overall compliance improved.
- Waqf Amendment stay — Interim stay on select provisions continues; next hearing date not yet fixed.
By the numbers
- 38% — Approximate share of pedestrians among road fatality victims in India, prompting the SC's intervention
- 5 lakh — Minimum city population threshold for mandatory pedestrian safety guideline compliance
- 3 months — Timeline for municipal corporations to submit pedestrian safety implementation plans
Looking ahead
- Late October: SC expected to hear client-advocate privilege and juvenility relief cases
- November: Parliament Winter Session to commence — additional legislative agenda expected
- November: SC to hear Tribunals Reforms Act constitutional challenge
- December: Year-end regulatory notifications from RBI, SEBI, and MCA
This is the Veritect Weekly Legal Roundup for Week 42 of 2025. For daily updates, visit our legal news page. Subscribe to receive this roundup every Monday morning.
Veritect provides this content for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.