The Delhi High Court on Thursday allowed two children suffering from autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to undergo stem cell therapy for their treatment.

The division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjiv Narula noted that there is no law prohibiting the use of stem cell therapy for ASD and even the NMC is yet to take a final decision on the recommendation.

The court said that no meaningful purpose would be served by stopping the ongoing treatment and hence the petitioners are allowed to continue the treatment. While adjourning the hearing of the case till October 3, the court also asked the NMC to take a final decision on the recommendation.

The court clarified that this is an interim order and the petitioners themselves will be responsible for the risk of treatment. However, the court does not want the treatment to stop now.

The petition was filed by the petitioners' relatives after their doctors had stopped their treatment due to the recommendations of the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC).

During the hearing, two expert doctors from AIIMS, who were present during to assist the court, told the bench that stem cell therapy is allowed only as a method of treating blood cancer and its use to treat ASD is currently in the experimental stage.

He pointed out that more research is needed regarding the use of the therapy for ASD before it can be prescribed as a treatment. Doctors said that even the therapy protocol is not clear yet.