Discrimination against women prevalent, female foeticide crude manifestation of such social malady: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said discrimination against women, more particularly against the girl child, is widely prevalent across several parts of the country and female foeticide is a crude manifestation of this social malady.

A bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan refused to quash a case lodged against a Gurugram-based radiologist for offences under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, and said it cannot nip the trial against him in the bud.

"Discrimination against the girl child and by extension women is still prevalent in several parts of the country. Crude and ugly manifestation of such social malady is in the form of female foeticide. The first step towards the commission of such an offence is in the sex determination of the foetus," the bench said.

It added that Parliament has stepped in to not only outlaw sex determination and selection but also to prohibit all related pre-conception and pre-natal techniques and procedures, making it mandatory to maintain the relevant record in the prescribed format.

"Non-maintenance of the record in the prescribed form would be an offence under the PCPNDT Act and Rules. In so far the present case is concerned, prima facie, it has come on record that the appellant had conducted ultrasonography on the pregnant woman.

"Whether or not he has maintained the record as required under the law, in addition to non-disclosure of the sex of the foetus, is a matter for trial. Therefore, it is not a case where the trial should be nipped in the bud," the bench said.

Refusing to interfere with an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, it said the case pending before the Gurugram judicial magistrate cannot be quashed.

"Therefore, no interference is called for in the impugned judgment and order of the high court. However, we make it clear that we have not expressed any opinion on the merit of the allegations and all contentions qua reliability and admissibility of evidence are kept open," the apex court said.

It, however, found fault with the procedure adopted in the raid conducted against the radiologist and said the civil surgeon is the chairperson of the District Appropriate Authority under the PCPNDT Act but the communication issued by him does not indicate any decision being taken collectively by the authority to conduct a raid on the premises of appellant Naresh Kumar Garg.

"Nothing has been placed on record by the respondents to show that there was any meeting of mind of the members of the District Appropriate Authority on the basis of which the chairperson had issued the communication/order dated September 17, 2015. "If that be the position, then the ratio in Ravindra Kumar (an earlier verdict) would be applicable to this case as well, on the basis of which the search carried out by the District Appropriate Authority, Gurugram, at Vatika Medicare i.e. the premises where the appellant worked, would be illegal...," the bench said.

It said the PCPNDT Act of 1994 was enacted to prohibit sex selection, leading to female foeticide, and aims to arrest the declining sex ratio in the country.

"The objectives of the PCPNDT Act declare that the said Act provides for prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques to prevent their misuse for sex determination, leading to female foeticide, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto," it said.

Elaborating on the objective of the law, the bench said a skewed sex ratio is likely to lead to greater incidences of violence against women and an increase in practices of trafficking, bride-buying etc.

"It is an effort to save the girl child. The focus of the PCPNDT Act is to protect the right to life of the girl child under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the bench said, adding that with a view to prevent such a crime and align with the global perspective for a discrimination-free world that the law was enacted.