New Delhi: Nearly five months after a Gurgaon couple alleged that a Delhi private fertility clinic swapped embryos, they are still awaiting answers, although the Centre has sought clarifications from Delhi’s Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) authorities about the case.The Union health ministry’s ART and surrogacy division sent repeated reminders to the state programme officer (ART & surrogacy) in Delhi govt’s directorate of health services, seeking an action-taken report. It also asked about the authenticity of records submitted by the IVF centre.However, in an order dated July 3, the UT Appropriate Authority under the ART and Surrogacy Act decided to keep its proceedings in abeyance, citing pending judicial decisions and an ongoing criminal investigation.Rahul Rathore and his wife, Meenu Rathore, filed a complaint against SCI IVF Hospital in Greater Kailash, alleging that during the IVF process, the embryos were swapped leading to the birth of twins who, they claim, are not biologically theirs. The couple has been seeking regulatory action against the clinic since Feb.In its communication dated June 15, the health ministry said “considerable time” had elapsed since the complaint was first referred to the Delhi authorities. It noted that despite repeated reminders, no inquiry report or action-taken report had been submitted.The ministry sought detailed verification of whether documents submitted by the hospital — such as consent forms, affidavits, donor records, insurance documents, embryo transfer records, admission and discharge summaries, and other statutory records — were genuine and legally valid.It also asked whether the clinic had complied with the provisions of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the ART Rules, 2022, including mandatory documentation, record keeping and donor traceability requirements.Further, the ministry sought to know whether any records had been forged, manipulated, fabricated or backdated after the dispute surfaced. It asked the Delhi authority to furnish a comprehensive report with supporting evidence on priority.Days later, however, the Delhi ART authority told the ministry that it would not proceed with the matter.“Accordingly, the present proceedings are kept in abeyance till judicial determination of the matter. No directions shall be issued at this stage. The matter may be revived after judicial adjudication or if any other exigency requires intervention,” the authority said in its July 3 order.The couple has questioned the decision, alleging that the regulator was delaying the inquiry.“We have also received a copy of the ART authority’s order. As far as we understand, there is no separate judicial inquiry that prevents them from examining the documents or carrying out their own statutory responsibilities. We feel the proceedings have simply been put on hold by using technical language to delay the investigation,” Rahul Rathore told TOI.“If everything was done according to the law, then the records sought by the Union health ministry should have been produced by now. We have been waiting for months for answers,” he said, adding that while they “feel blessed to have the children they are now raising, they want to know whereabouts of their biological child”.