Nayanthara and Vignesh welcomed twin boys (Source: @wikkiofficial / Instagram)
A senior Tamil Nadu health official Friday said the government took a suo moto decision to probe the legalities surrounding actor Nayanthara and her husband Vignesh Shivan’s purported choice to opt for surrogacy.
The committee, headed by a joint director-rank official, has been assigned to look into whether the couple — Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan — complied with the law while choosing surrogacy. After Parliament approved the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act in December 2021, which came into effect on January 25, 2022, commercial surrogacy has been outlawed in India. Only ‘altruistic surrogacy’ is now permitted, in which the bearing mother receives no financial assistance other than medical expenses.
Talking to indianexpress.com, A Viswanathan, joint director of Medical and Rural Health Services, said the team has been formed and the investigation has started. Viswanathan, who is heading the probe committee, said there was no complainant.
“We are taking suo moto proceedings to clear off the mystery in the entire episode. This is to keep up the goodwill of procedures we follow in Tamil Nadu. Otherwise, there were no complainants or complaints raising charges or allegations in this particular case. It became sensational news after the parents announced it on social media. There were debates on different grounds, and the best thing the government could do was clear the air,” he said.
Viswanathan said the primary job before them was to verify all hospital records to ensure that all procedures were followed. “Only after verifying official records and procedures followed in the particular case, we need to think of the next stage,” he said. When asked if Nayanthara and Shivan would be interviewed by the probe panel, he said the situation would arise only if there was a violation. “There are no signs of violation. So I need not comment on that,” he said.
Another senior health official, requesting anonymity, said the hospital being probed is located in Chennai as per their preliminary information.
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On October 9, Shivan published photos on his Instagram and Twitter accounts with the caption, “Nayan & Me have become Amma & Appa. We are blessed with twin baby boys. All our prayers, our ancestors’ blessings combined with all the good manifestations made, have come together in the form of two blessed babies for us. We need all the blessings for our Uyir and Ulagam.”
However, the couples have not yet revealed if they used surrogacy to conceive the babies.
Arun Janardhanan is an experienced and authoritative Tamil Nadu correspondent for The Indian Express. Based in the state, his reporting combines ground-level access with long-form clarity, offering readers a nuanced understanding of South India’s political, judicial, and cultural life - work that reflects both depth of expertise and sustained authority.
Expertise
Geographic Focus: As Tamil Nadu Correspondent focused on politics, crime, faith and disputes, Janardhanan has been also reporting extensively on Sri Lanka, producing a decade-long body of work on its elections, governance, and the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings through detailed stories and interviews.
Key Coverage Areas:
State Politics and Governance: Close reporting on the DMK and AIADMK, the emergence of new political actors such as actor Vijay’s TVK, internal party churn, Centre–State tensions, and the role of the Governor.
Legal and Judicial Affairs: Consistent coverage of the Madras High Court, including religion-linked disputes and cases involving state authority and civil liberties.
Investigations: Deep-dive series on landmark cases and unresolved questions, including the Tirupati encounter and the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, alongside multiple investigative series from Tamil Nadu.
Culture, Society, and Crisis: Reporting on cultural organisations, language debates, and disaster coverage—from cyclones to prolonged monsoon emergencies—anchored in on-the-ground detail.
His reporting has been recognised with the Ramnath Goenka Award for Excellence in Journalism.
Beyond journalism, Janardhanan is also a screenwriter; his Malayalam feature film Aarkkariyam was released in 2021. ... Read More
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