New Delhi, Nov. 11 -- Sympathy, howsoever genuine, cannot substitute statutory eligibility, the Delhi High Court has held, refusing to exempt a couple from the prescribed age limit to enable them to undergo surrogacy. "Notwithstanding, the court is required to decide the matter in accordance with the governing statutory framework and sympathy, howsoever genuine, cannot be a substitute for statutory eligibility," a bench of justice Amit Mahajan said in his November 2 order, released later. In the case at hand, the couple approached a clinic for their first consultation on February 6, 2025, when the woman was approximately 49 years and seven months old. Four days later, gestational surrogacy using a donor was recommended. However, while under...