Surrogacy row: Nayanthara, Vignesh absolved of any wrongdoing

Chennai: The four-member panel constituted to probe whether star couple Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan violated surrogacy laws has absolved the celebrity couple of any wrongdoing.

It found the couple's marriage documents from 2016 to be true, and thus declared that the duo had indeed waited the mandatory five-year period before opting for surrogacy.

However, the hospital that performed the artificial insemination procedure was found to have committed serious lapses.

During the probe, it was found that the hospital had not kept adequate treatment records.

The panel, which sought an explanation from the doctors, also found the management guilty of flouting surrogacy laws.

Tamil Nadu Health Minister MA Subramanian has said that legal action will be initiated against the hospital authorities as their explanations were found unsatisfactory.

The inquiry was conducted by a panel headed by the Joint Director of Tamil Nadu Health Department.

As per Indian law, couples can only opt for surrogacy if they have no children even after five years of marriage.

Nayanthara had also made clear that the surrogate is a close relative, as is mandated by law.

An inquiry was ordered against Nayanthara and Vignesh when they announced the birth of their twin boys within four months of their marriage ceremony.

However, it was later carified that the two had tied the knot in a private ceremony way back in 2016, and that the June 9 event was just a ceremonial function ahead of them welcoming their newborns.