The Hindu : Sex determination tests: Centre, States told to enforce ban

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 11, 2003

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Sex determination tests: Centre, States told to enforce ban

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI SEPT. 10. The Supreme Court today directed the Centre, the States and Union Territories to implement the provisions of the Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act banning sex determination tests and sex selection to prevent female foeticide.

(The Act prohibits determination and disclosure of the sex of foetus. It also prohibits any advertisements relating to pre-natal determination of sex. Under the amendments which came into force from February 14, pre-conception sex selection is also an offence).

A Bench, comprising Justices R.C. Lahoti and Ashok Bhan, disposing of a public interest petition filed by the Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT), Dr. Sabu George and another, directed the Centre and the States to monitor the functioning of diagnostic centres so as not to allow them to indulge in illegal sex determination.

Compulsory registration

The court had earlier ordered compulsory registration of all diagnostic centres across the country and empowered the State appointed committees to seize the ultrasound machines if they were misused.

The Bench said it was an admitted fact that girls were being discriminated against in India and dowry was still prevalent. Expressing concern over the growing imbalance in sex ratio because of female infanticide and foeticide, the Bench noted that "with no change in the mindset about females, the sex-determination tests add to the adverse situation." And the Court would not be able to change the mindset of the population.

Advancement of technology was to bring succour to the populace but with the mindset remaining unchanged, the Bench said the technology was being used for illegal removal of the female foetus and this "adds to pressure on male-female ratio."

Subsequent to the court's earlier directions, appropriate authorities with powers of civil court had been appointed in most of the States and the Union Territories. They were empowered to prosecute clinics and doctors if they used ultrasound technique for sex determination.

A national monitoring and implementation committee had been constituted at the Centre to take stock of the ground realities by field visits to problem States.

According to Dr. George, who had been spearheading the campaign against female foeticide, statistics had shown that in the last few years, over 1.5 million abortions had taken place in India.

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