Mumbai, July 20 -- The Bombay High Court has disposed of petitions challenging the age restriction for women undergoing procedures under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Act after medical evaluations found both petitioners unfit to undergo in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). The two women, aged 53 and 55, had approached the court seeking medical evaluation to determine their eligibility for IVF while keeping their constitutional challenge to the law pending. Both fall under the category of advanced maternal age. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad observed on Thursday that the petitions had become an "academic interest" because the women had sought permission to undergo ART only if they were found medically fit. Represented by advocate Kalyani Tulankar, the petitioners had sought to declare Section 21(g) of the ART Act unconstitutional. The provision prescribes the upper age limit for women seeking assisted reproductive procedures, including IVF, to safeguard the health of the mother and child. On April 22, the bench had expressed concern over the medical implications of permitting ART beyond a certain age and directed the women to undergo medical examinations to assess whether they could safely carry pregnancies. "Up to a particular age, a body is capable of giving birth to a healthy child. Women can become a mother even at the age of 45, but the doctor says the body starts aging after 40. After that, the degeneration of the body begins and that's why they call it 'middle age'," the bench said. Medical reports submitted in May found one petitioner, who has had hypothyroidism for 15 years and has been post-menopausal for two years, and the other, who has had diabetes for four years and has been post-menopausal for five years, medically unfit for IVF. "On clinical examination and based on the available medical records/investigations, they are found to be medically unfit to undergo IVF," the reports stated. "In view of the above, the challenge raised in these petitions is rendered academic. Since both petitioners have been found medically unfit after extensive tests, we see no reason to examine the challenge to Section 21(g) of the Assisted Reproductive Technology Act, 2021," the court said while disposing of the petitions....