Gujarat HC permits jailed couple serving life sentence to pursue IVF treatment

The Gujarat High Court has extended parole for a couple serving life imprisonment to allow them to undergo in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, marking an uncommon instance of judicial leniency for convicts seeking parenthood, as per a report by TOI.

Jayendra Damor and Sejal Bariya, convicted in 2013 by a Godhra district court for murdering Bariya’s former boyfriend, Pinakin Patel, in 2010, are serving life terms in separate prisons. The court noted that their plea deserved “sympathetic consideration” and allowed them to remain out on parole until November 2.

On October 16, the High Court granted Damor temporary release to accompany Bariya for IVF procedures. When the couple appeared before the court again on October 28, Justice H.D. Suthar extended the parole period, stating, “Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the present case and for the reasons stated in the application, the same is partly allowed and the parole leave period granted earlier is extended up to November 2 on the same terms and conditions.”


The bench made it clear that the concession was temporary, directing that “the applicant shall surrender before the concerned jail authority immediately after the aforesaid period is over.”

Bariya, who was earlier released on parole in 2023 for infertility treatment, began consulting a gynaecologist in Dahod. Based on medical advice, Damor later sought parole to participate in the IVF process. The couple, now in their late thirties, told the court they wished to have a child despite serving their sentences.

(With inputs from TOI)