VOLUNTARY HEALTH ASS. OF PUNJAB Vs UNION OF INDIA .
Bench: DIPAK MISRA,SHIVA KIRTI SINGH
Case number: W.P.(C) No.-000349-000349 / 2006
Diary number: 18799 / 2006
Advocates: JYOTI MENDIRATTA Vs
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REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 349 OF 2006
Voluntary Health Association ... Petitioner(s) of Punjab
Versus
Union of India and Others ... Respondent(s)
WITH
WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 575 OF 2014
J U D G M E N T
Dipak Misra, J.
The two writ petitions being inter-connected in certain
aspects were heard together and are disposed of by the
singular order. We shall first deal with the grievance
agitated in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 349 of 2006 and
thereafter advert to what has been asserted in the other writ
petition. Be it stated immediately that the issues raised in
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Writ Petition (Civil) No. 349 of 2006 are not agitated for the
first time, for they had been raised on earlier occasions and
dealt with serious concern and solemn sincerity. It is
because they relate to the very core of existence of a civilized
society, pertain to the progress of the human race, and
expose the maladroit efforts to throttle the right of a life to
feel the mother earth and smell its fragrance. And, if we
allow ourselves to say, the issues have been highlighted
with sincere rhetorics and balanced hyperboles and ring the
alarm of destruction of humanity in the long run. It is not a
group prophecy, but a significant collective predication. The
involvement of all is obvious, and it has to be. The heart of
the issue that is zealously projected by the petitioner is the
increase of female foeticide, resultant imbalance of sex ratio
and the indifference in the implementation of the stringent
law that is in force. In essence, the fulcrum of the
anguished grievance lays stress on the non-implementation
of the provisions of The Pre-conception and Pre-natal
Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act,
1994 (for brevity “the Act”) and The Pre-conception and
Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex
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Selection) Rules, 1996 (for short “the Rules”) framed under
the Act by the competent authorities who are obliged to do
so.
2. The grievance has a narrative, and it needs to be
stated.
3. Realising the rise of pre-natal diagnostic centres in
urban areas of the country using pre-natal diagnostic
techniques for determination of sex of the foetus and that
the said centres had become very popular and had
tremendous growth, as the female child is not welcomed
with open arms in many Indian families and the
consequence that such centres became centres for female
foeticide which affected the dignity and status of women, the
Parliament brought in the legislation to regulate the use of
such techniques and to provide punishment for such
inhuman act. The objects and reasons of the Act stated
unequivocally that it was meant to prohibit the misuse of
pre-natal diagnostic techniques for determination of sex of
the foetus, leading to female foeticide; to prohibit
advertisement of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for
detection or determination of sex; to permit and regulate the
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use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purpose of
detection of specific genetic abnormalities or disorders; to
permit the use of such techniques only under certain
conditions by the registered institutions; and to punish for
violation of the provisions of the proposed legislation. The
Preamble of the Act provides for the prohibition of sex
selection before or after conception, and for regulation of
pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of
detecting genetic abnormalities or metabolic disorders or
chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital
malformations or sex-linked disorders and for the
prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to
female foeticide and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto. Be it noted when the Act came into
force, it was named as the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 and after
the amendments in 2001 and 2003, in the present
incarnation, it is called The Pre-conception and Pre-natal
Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act,
1994.
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4. As the violence and cruelty meted out to women
gradually got revealed due to rights and protections
prescribed under various legislations, the Court perceived
the magnitude of the crime. Such a situation compelled
this Court, in Ajit Savant Majagvai v. State of
Karnataka1, while dealing with the physical violence,
torture, mental cruelty and murder of the female
particularly the wife, to comment on the degeneration of
relationship and the prevalent atmosphere by observing
that:-
“3. Social thinkers, philosophers, dramatists, poets and writers have eulogised the female species of the human race and have always used beautiful epithets to describe her temperament and personality and have not deviated from that path even while speaking of her odd behaviour, at times. Even in sarcasm, they have not crossed the literary limit and have adhered to a particular standard of nobility of language. Even when a member of her own species, Madame De Stael, remarked “I am glad that I am not a man; for then I should have to marry a woman”, there was wit in it. When Shakespeare wrote, “Age cannot wither her; nor custom stale, her infinite variety”, there again was wit. Notwithstanding that these writers have cried hoarse for respect for “woman”, notwithstanding that Schiller said “Honour women! They entwine and weave heavenly roses in our earthly life” and notwithstanding that the Mahabharata mentioned her as the source of salvation, crime against “woman” continues to
1 (1997) 7 SCC 110
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rise and has, today undoubtedly, risen to alarming proportions.
4. It is unfortunate that in an age where people are described as civilised, crime against “female” is committed even when the child is in the womb as the “female” foetus is often destroyed to prevent the birth of a female child. If that child comes into existence, she starts her life as a daughter, then becomes a wife and in due course, a mother. She rocks the cradle to rear up her infant, bestows all her love on the child and as the child grows in age, she gives to the child all that she has in her own personality. She shapes the destiny and character of the child. To be cruel to such a creature is unthinkable.”
[Emphasis added]
5. We may repeat, the aforestated observation though
made totally in a different context but nonetheless, it seemly
stated the marrow of the problem. Needless to emphasise,
the predicament with regard to female foeticide by misuse of
modern science and technology has aggravated and
enormously affected the sex ratio. To eradicate the malady,
the Parliament, as stated earlier, had enacted the Act. In
the first year of this century, a petition under Article 32 was
moved for issuing directions to implement the provisions of
the said Act by (a) appointing appropriate authorities at
State and district levels and the Advisory Committees; (b)
issuing direction to the Central Government to ensure that
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the Central Supervisory Board meets every 6 months as
provided under the PNDT Act; and for banning of all
advertisements of prenatal sex selection including all other
sex-determination techniques which can be abused to
selectively produce only boys either before or during
pregnancy. A two-Judge bench in Center for Enquiry into
Health & Allied Themes (CEHAT) and others v. Union of
India and others2 and Center for Enquiry into Health &
Allied Themes (CEHAT) and others v. Union of India and
others3 on 04.05.2001 issued certain directions. Apart from
the directions contained in the said orders, the Court, while
finally disposing of the writ petition, issued the following
directions:-
“(a) For effective implementation of the Act, information should be published by way of advertisements as well as on electronic media. This process should be continued till there is awareness in the public that there should not be any discrimination between male and female child.
(b) Quarterly reports by the appropriate authority, which are submitted to the Supervisory Board should be consolidated and published annually for information of the public at large.
2 (2001) 5 SCC 577 3 (2003) 8 SCC 398
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(c) Appropriate authorities shall maintain the records of all the meetings of the Advisory Committees.
(d) The National Inspection and Monitoring Committee constituted by the Central Government for conducting periodic inspection shall continue to function till the Act is effectively implemented. The reports of this Committee be placed before the Central Supervisory Board and State Supervisory Boards for any further action.
(e) As provided under Rule 17(3), the public would have access to the records maintained by different bodies constituted under the Act.
(f) The Central Supervisory Board would ensure that the following States appoint the State Supervisory Boards as per the requirement of Section 16-A: 1. Delhi, 2. Himachal Pradesh, 3. Tamil Nadu, 4. Tripura, and 5. Uttar Pradesh.
(g) As per the requirement of Section 17(3)(a), the Central Supervisory Board would ensure that the following States appoint the multi-member appropriate authorities: 1. Jharkhand, 2. Maharashtra, 3. Tripura, 4. Tamil Nadu, and 5. Uttar Pradesh. It will be open to the parties to approach this Court in case of any difficulty in implementing the aforesaid directions”.
6. Despite the directions issued by the Court, there had
not been proper implementation and that compelled the
present petitioner, namely, Voluntary Health Association of
Punjab to file the present Writ Petition seeking various
directions. The Court on 08.01.2013 took note of the fact
that the provisions had not been adequately implemented
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by the various States and Union Territories and accordingly
directed for personal appearance of the Health Secretaries of
the States of Punjab, Haryana, NCT of Delhi, Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, to examine what
steps they had taken for the proper and effective
implementation of the provisions of the Act as well as the
various directions issued by this Court.
7. At a later stage, a reference was made to 2011 Census
of India to highlight there had been a sharp decline in the
female sex ratio in many States. It was also observed that
there had been no effective supervision or follow-up action
so as to achieve the object and purpose of the Act. It was
observed that mushrooming of various sonography centres,
genetic clinics, genetic counselling centres, genetic
laboratories, ultrasonic clinics, imaging centres in almost all
parts of the country called for more vigil and attention by
the authorities under the Act. The Court also found that
their functioning was not being properly monitored or
supervised by the authorities under the Act or to find out
whether they are misusing the pre-natal diagnostic
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techniques for determination of sex of foetus leading to
foeticide.
8. A reference was made to various facets of the Act and
the Rules and ultimately the Court in Voluntary Health
Association of Punjab v. Union of India and others4
issued the following directions:-
“9.1. The Central Supervisory Board and the State and Union Territories Supervisory Boards, constituted under Sections 7 and 16-A of PN & PNDT Act, would meet at least once in six months, so as to supervise and oversee how effective is the implementation of the PN & PNDT Act.
9.2. The State Advisory Committees and District Advisory Committees should gather information relating to the breach of the provisions of the PN & PNDT Act and the Rules and take steps to seize records, seal machines and institute legal proceedings, if they notice violation of the provisions of the PN & PNDT Act.
9.3. The committees mentioned above should report the details of the charges framed and the conviction of the persons who have committed the offence, to the State Medical Councils for proper action, including suspension of the registration of the unit and cancellation of licence to practice.
9.4. The authorities should ensure also that all genetic counselling centres, genetic laboratories and genetic clinics, infertility clinics, scan centres, etc. using pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic techniques and procedures should maintain all records and all forms, required to be maintained under the Act and the Rules and the duplicate copies of the same be sent to the district
4 (2013) 4 SCC 1
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authorities concerned, in accordance with Rule 9(8) of the Rules.
9.5. States and District Advisory Boards should ensure that all manufacturers and sellers of ultrasonography machines do not sell any machine to any unregistered centre, as provided under Rule 3-A and disclose, on a quarterly basis, to the State/Union Territory concerned and the Central Government, a list of persons to whom the machines have been sold, in accordance with Rule 3-A(2) of the Rules.
9.6. There will be a direction to all genetic counselling centres, genetic laboratories, clinics, etc. to maintain Forms A, E, H and other statutory forms provided under the Rules and if these forms are not properly maintained, appropriate action should be taken by the authorities concerned.
9.7. Steps should also be taken by the State Government and the authorities under the Act for mapping of all registered and unregistered ultrasonography clinics, in three months’ time.
9.8. Steps should be taken by the State Governments and the Union Territories to educate the people of the necessity of implementing the provisions of the Act by conducting workshops as well as awareness camps at the State and district levels.
9.9. Special cell be constituted by the State Governments and the Union Territories to monitor the progress of various cases pending in the courts under the Act and take steps for their early disposal.
9.10. The authorities concerned should take steps to seize the machines which have been used illegally and contrary to the provisions of the Act and the Rules thereunder and the seized machines can also be confiscated under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and be sold, in accordance with law.
9.11. The various courts in this country should take steps to dispose of all pending cases under
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the Act, within a period of six months. Communicate this order to the Registrars of various High Courts, who will take appropriate follow-up action with due intimation to the courts concerned.”
A further direction was given to file the Status Report
within a period of three months. It is apt to note here that in
the concurring opinion Dipak Misra, J. only highlighted
certain aspects that pertained to direction contained in
paragraph 9.8.
9. We may profitably reproduce certain passages from the
concurring opinion:-
“14. Female foeticide has its roots in the social thinking which is fundamentally based on certain erroneous notions, egocentric traditions, perverted perception of societal norms and obsession with ideas which are totally individualistic sans the collective good. All involved in female foeticide deliberately forget to realise that when the foetus of a girl child is destroyed, a woman of the future is crucified. To put it differently, the present generation invites the sufferings on its own and also sows the seeds of suffering for the future generation, as in the ultimate eventuate, the sex ratio gets affected and leads to manifold social problems. I may hasten to add that no awareness campaign can ever be complete unless there is real focus on the prowess of women and the need for women empowerment.
x x x x x
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19. A woman has to be regarded as an equal partner in the life of a man. It has to be borne in mind that she has also the equal role in the society i.e. thinking, participating and leadership.
x x x x x
21. When a female foeticide takes place, every woman who mothers the child must remember that she is killing her own child despite being a mother. That is what abortion would mean in social terms. Abortion of a female child in its conceptual eventuality leads to killing of a woman. Law prohibits it; scriptures forbid it; philosophy condemns it; ethics deprecate it, morality decries it and social science abhors it. Henrik Ibsen emphasised on the individualism of woman. John Milton treated her to be the best of all God’s work. In this context, it will be appropriate to quote a few lines from Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville:
“If I were asked … to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people [Americans] ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply: To the superiority of their women.”
x x x x x
32. A cosmetic awareness campaign would never subserve the purpose. The authorities of the Government, the non-governmental organisations and other volunteers are required to remember that there has to be awareness camps which are really effective. The people involved with the same must take it up as a service, a crusade. They must understand and accept that it is an art as well as a science and not simple arithmetic. It cannot take the colour of a routine speech. The awareness camps should not be founded on the theory of Euclidian geometry. It must engulf the
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concept of social vigilance with an analytical mind and radiate into the marrows of the society. If awareness campaigns are not appositely conducted, the needed guidance for the people would be without meaning and things shall fall apart and everyone would try to take shelter in cynical escapism.
33. It is difficult to precisely state how an awareness camp is to be conducted. It will depend upon what kind and strata of people are being addressed to. The persons involved in such awareness campaign are required to equip themselves with constitutional concepts, culture, philosophy, religion, scriptural commands and injunctions, the mandate of the law as engrafted under the Act and above all the development of modern science. It needs no special emphasis to state that in awareness camps while the deterrent facets of law are required to be accentuated upon, simultaneously the desirability of law to be followed with spiritual obeisance, regard being had to the purpose of the Act, has to be stressed upon. The seemly synchronisation shall bring the required effect. That apart, documentary films can be shown to highlight the need; and instil the idea in the mind of the public at large, for when the mind becomes strong, mountains do melt.
34. The people involved in the awareness campaigns should have boldness and courage. There should not be any iota of confusion or perplexity in their thought or action. They should treat it as a problem and think that a problem has to be understood in a proper manner to afford a solution. They should bear in mind that they are required to change the mindset of the people, the grammar of the society and unacceptable beliefs inherent in the populace.”
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10. As directed in the judgment, the matter was listed and
certain clarifications were sought for by the Union of India
with regard to the directions vide direction Nos. 2, 3, 4 and
6 pointing out that the authorities mentioned in direction
No. 2 should also include appropriate authority under
Section 17 and Section 17A of the Act. With regard to
direction No. 6, it was submitted that instead of Forms A, E
and H, Forms A, D, F, G & H be substituted. The said
prayers were allowed and the States were directed to file
their respective status report.
11. On 16.9.2014 the Court took note of the directions
already issued and proceeded to deal with I.A. No. 11 of
2013 and recorded the submission of Mr. Sanjay Parikh,
learned counsel that the Union of India has to animate itself
in an appropriate manner to see that the sex ratio is
maintained and does not reduce further. It was also urged
by him that the Central Supervision Committee which is
required to meet to take stock of the situation and the
National Monitoring Committee who is required to monitor
the activities, had failed in their duties.
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12. Mr. Parikh had also drawn the attention of the Court
to the proviso to Section 4(3) of the Act which reads as
follows:-
“4. Regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques.-- On and from the commencement of this Act,-- (1) … (2) … (3) …
Provided that the person conducting ultrasonography on a pregnant woman shall keep complete record thereof in the clinic in such manner, as may be prescribed, and any deficiency or inaccuracy found therein shall amount to contravention of the provisions of section 5 and section 6 unless contrary is proved by the person conducting such ultrasonography.”
13. It was propounded by him that the concerned
authorities have not acted in accordance with the aforesaid
provision in all seriousness as a result of which the nation
has faced the disaster of female foeticide. On that day,
Mr. Colin Gonsalves, learned senior counsel appearing for
the writ petitioner had drawn our attention to the affidavit
filed by the petitioner contending, inter alia, that the sex
ratio in most of the States had decreased and in certain
States, there had been a minor increase, but the same is
not likely to subserve the aims and objects of the Act. After
referring to the history of this litigation which has been
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continuing in this Court since long, he had submitted that
certain directions are required to be issued.
14. The Union of India was directed to file an affidavit of
the Additional Secretary of Health and/or any other
concerned Additional Secretary clearly stating what steps
had been taken and on the basis of the steps taken, what
results have been achieved. It was also directed that all the
States shall file their responses through the concerned
Health Secretaries. The direction further contained that the
affidavits shall be comprehensive and must reflect sincerity
and responsibility.
15. On 25.11.2014 the Court noted that affidavits by
certain States had been filed and certain States, namely,
Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala,
Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura,
and UT of Daman and Nagar Haveli and Puducherry had
not filed the affidavits. Two weeks time was granted to file
the necessary affidavits. At that juncture, it was thought
appropriate to advert to the States by dividing them into
certain clusters. It was decided to deal with the situation
pertaining to the States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and NCT
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of Delhi first. The affidavit filed by the State of Uttar
Pradesh was considered and in that context it was observed
that the census conducted in 2011 cannot be the guideline
for the purposes of PC-PNDT Act. It was felt that a different
methodology was required to be adopted by the State.
Paragraph 28 of the affidavit, which is of significance, is
extracted below:-
“28. That it is pertinent to mention herein that according to “ANNUAL HEALTH SURVEY (AHS)” for the year 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13, improvement has been revealed in the State in respect of Sex Ratio At Birth, Sex Ratio of Child (0 to 04 years age) and Sex Ratio in all age group, which is clear with the table given below:
Year of Annual Health Survey
Sex Ratio (at birth)
Sex Ratio (0 to 4 years of
Sex Ratio (In all ages)
2010-11 904 913 943 2011-12 908 914 944 2012-13 921 919 946
It is necessary to mention here that on a query being
made by the Court, learned counsel for the State was not in
a position to explain on what basis the said figures had
been arrived at, for the same was not reflectible from the
assertions made in the affidavit.
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16. As far as the State of Haryana is concerned, the chart
given in paragraph 15 of the affidavit indicated district-wise
and month-wise sex ratio of births during the year 2014. It
is as follows:-
“District wise and month wise Sex Ratio at Birth during year 2014 in Haryana State as per CRS (Prov) Sr. No
District Up to Jan.14
Up to Feb.14
Up to Mar 14
Up to April 14
Up to May 14
Up to June 14
1 Ambala 1012 993 959 939 913 910 2 Bhiwani 824 812 843 848 846 832 3 Faridabad 929 892 889 884 890 890 4 Fatehabad 859 898 890 888 886 874 5 Gurgaon 829 856 851 854 855 839 6 Hissar 892 872 883 878 885 880 7 Jhajjar 797 793 793 801 800 811 8 Jind 886 876 878 911 915 899 9 Kaithal 953 921 920 928 927 918 10 Karnal 911 899 888 881 889 894 11 Kurukshetra 956 904 900 892 890 888 12 Mewat 920 942 932 923 920 919 13 Mohindergarh 777 776 797 786 782 770 14 Palwal 867 871 871 871 876 875 15 Panchkula 853 837 860 914 902 914 16 Panpat 924 931 915 904 903 895 17 Rewari 856 850 849 822 816 806 18 Rohtak 894 884 865 863 859 889 19 Sirsa 897 872 879 885 892 886 20 Sonepat 859 884 850 838 834 835 21 Yamuna naga 903 940 916 897 894 869
Haryana State
889 884 881 878 878 874”
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Nothing had been filed stating as to how the aforesaid
figures had been reached except making a statement that
the figures were arrived at on the basis of entry in certain
registers.
17. On a perusal of the affidavit by the NCT of Delhi, it was
noted that in paragraph 5, it had been stated, thus:-
“5. It is submitted that Sex Ratio at Birth in Delhi, which is a reliable indicator of violations under the PC & PNDT Act, has improved by 9 points in 2013 over the previous year. The data available from Civil Registration System indicates that Sex Ratio at Birth was 809 females per 1000 males in the year 2001 and it is currently at 895 in 2013 Annexure R-I.”
18. At that stage, the Court felt the need for verification of
the documents that formed the basis on which these figures
had been reached. It was also clarified that the figures that
had been put forth did not show much indication of
improvement but it was necessary to verify whether the
figures that had been set forth was correct or not. The
purpose was to find out whether there was degradation of
sex ratio or stagnation or any steps had really been taken by
the concerned States to improve/enhance the sex ratio or
not; and accordingly it was directed that a meeting be held
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under the auspices of National Inspection and Monitoring
Committee wherein the Additional Secretary who had filed
the affidavit for the Union of India and two other Joint
Secretaries of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
shall remain present. The deponents who had filed the
affidavits before this Court on behalf of the State of Uttar
Pradesh and NCT of Delhi were directed to remain present.
The Director General, Health Services, State of Haryana and
the Principal Secretary along with the Special Secretary,
State of Uttar Pradesh were also directed to remain present
in the meeting and to produce the relevant registers/records
before the said Committee on the date fixed. Mr. Gonsalves,
learned senior counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Parikh,
learned counsel for the impleaded respondent(s) were
allowed to be present. The report was required to be filed
before this Court by 10.12.2014. It was further directed that
apart from the sex-ratio, the aforesaid three States shall
also bring records with regard to the prosecutions levied by
the State yearwise and the stage of the prosecution.
19. Pursuant to order dated 25.11.2014, the Committee
verified the data submitted by three States, namely, Uttar
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Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. As far as the State of Uttar
Pradesh was concerned, on a perusal of the report, it
transpired that the figures that were submitted by the State
of Uttar Pradesh had been verified by the Committee and
found to be correct. On a perusal of the report along with
the documents that had been annexed to, it was noticed
that certain cases were pending for trial before the trial
Court. Regard being had to the fact that they had been
instituted long back, a direction was issued to the effect that
the proceedings that were pending before for trial and where
there was no stay order of the High Court or this Court, the
same shall be taken up in quite promptitude and be
disposed of within a period of three months commencing
20th January, 2015. Be it stated certain other directions
were issued to be complied with by the State of Uttar
Pradesh.
20. At a subsequent stage, the data furnished by the
States, i.e., Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil
Nadu were verified. On 15.4.2015 this Court’s attention
was drawn to the sex ratio in Delhi which had been verified
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by the Monitoring Committee as per the population census.
The said sex ratio relates to 2011 which reads as follows:-
“Sex Ratio as per Population Census The universal sex ratio of Delhi as per population census for all age groups taken together was 821 females per 1000 males in 2001 and it has become 866 females per 1000 males as per provisional data of census – 2011. Children sex ratio (0-6) of Delhi went down marginally from 868 (as per census 2001) to 866 (as per census 2011). As can be seen from statement 1.3, at both points of the figures of Delhi were below than All India level. The district-wise scenario for the children of 0-6 years varies in different districts.
Statement 1.3: Sex ratio of Delhi/All India as per population Census Data
Sl. No Item Census Year A District wise sex ratio
(Children of 0-6 years) 2001 2011
South 888 878 South West 846 836 North West 857 863 North 886 872 Central 903 902 New Delhi 898 884 East 865 870 North East 875 875 West 859 867 Delhi Children of 0-6 years 868 866 All ages 821 866 All India Children of 0 -6 years 927 914 All ages 933 940
Source: Population census – 2011”
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21. Our attention was also drawn to the document which
is 'Monthly monitoring of the sex ratio of institutional birth'.
It stated thus:-
“The data is collected on monthly basis from 50 major hospitals which accounts for 50.87% of total registered births in the year 2013 in Delhi. This helps to review the sex ratio at the highest level in the shortest possible time without waiting for the yearly indicators. The sex ratio of institutional births on the basis of these 50 hospitals was also 895 in the year 2013. Efforts will be made to increase the coverage of health institutions under the monthly monitoring system to make this exercise meaningful and truly representative of the ground reality.”
22. Learned counsel appearing for NCT of Delhi, had
drawn our attention to the affidavit filed by the Union of
India and especially to Annexure 'E'. Annexure 'E' is only
report on registration of births and deaths in Delhi in 2013.
At page 114, the profile of birth Registration had been
mentioned under the caption 'The birth registration in civil
registration system'. It is as follows:-
“During 2013, a total of 370000 birth events were registered by all the local bodies taken together. Out of them, 1.95 lakhs (52.76%) were male and 1.75 lakhs (47.24%) were female. Statement 3.1: Total Number of Births registered under CRS sex-wise.
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Year Total Births
Male Female Sex Ratio
2001 296287 163816 (55.29)
132471 (44.71)
809
2002 300659 164184 (54.61)
136475 (45.39)
831
2003 301165 165173 (54.84)
135992 (45.16)
823
2004 305974 167849 (54.86)
138125 (45.11)
823
2005 324336 178031 (54.89)
146305 (45.11)
822
2006 322750 176242 (54.69)
146508 (45,39)
831
2007 322044 174289 (54.12)
147755 (45.88)
848
2008 333908 166583 (49.89)
167325 (50.11)
1004
2009 354482 185131 (52.22)
169351 (47.78)
915
2010 359463 189122 (52.61)
170341 (47.39)
901
2011 353759 186870 (52.82)
166889 (47.18)
893
2012 360473 191129 (53.02)
169344 (46.98)
886
2013 370000 195226 (52.76)
174774 (47.24)
895”
23. The data furnished by the NCT of Delhi was contested
on the ground that it was collected from 50 major hospitals.
The Court noticed that there had really been no
improvement with regard to the sex ratio. The Court took
note of the submissions of Mr. Gonsalves, learned senior
counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Parikh, learned counsel
for the impleaded respondent(s) and observed that under
Section 16(2)(f)(ii) and (iii) there should be eminent women
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activists from non-governmental oraganisations and
eminent gynaecologists and obstetricians or experts of
stri-roga or prasuti tantra to be the members and thought it
apt to state that there can be eminent women activists from
non-governmental organizations, eminent gynaecologists
and obstetricians or experts of stri-roga or prasuti tantra and
eminent radiologists or sonologists but care has to be taken
that they do not have conflict of interest.
24. On 15.09.2015, the Court noted the submission of Ms.
Anitha Shenoy, learned counsel appearing for Dr. Sabu
Mathew George, the newly impleaded party, that the
appropriate authorities are not following the mandate
enshrined under Rule 18A of the Rules. Keeping in view the
language employed in the said Rule, the Court directed that
all the appropriate authorities including the State, districts
and sub-districts notified under the Act shall submit
quarterly progress report to the Government of India
through the State Government and maintain Form H for
keeping the information of all registrations readily available.
The Court further directed that the States shall file the
compliance report pertaining to sub-rule (6) of Rule 18A of
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the Rules and also directed counsel for the Union of India to
apprise the Court about the information received from the
various appropriate authorities.
25. On 17.11.2015 when the matter was taken up, the
Court adverted to the fact that the State of Odisha, as
directed, had provided the Committee relevant documents,
especially the documents which are required for eradicating
the deficiencies pointed out by the Committee. Be it noted,
the Committee had earlier pointed out certain deficiencies.
The State had filed the documents in pursuance of the order
of the Court and the Committee had filed report pertaining
to the State of Odisha. Paragraph 4 of the report reads as
follows:-
“4. The State of Odisha had cited the data on Sex Ratio at Birth from the Civil Registration of births of State. State Provided the relevant data and C.D. M.O, Odisha. There are 314 rural registration units & 100 urban registration units I 30 districts in Odisha State. All the data is based on the records of civil registration system. The Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) data for the year 2013 submitted in the affidavit is 886 whereas as per the records submitted by the State data for the same period is 890. The representatives of the State clarified that in the affidavit, the figures were provisional.”
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26. Mr. Gonsalves, learned senior counsel had also filed a
chart containing 'District-wise Sex Ratio at Birth of Odisha
State' commencing from the year 2010 to 2014. The said
chart is reproduced below:-
“District wise sex ratio at birth of Odisha State
Sl.No Name of the District
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 Angul 894 900 879 890 904 2 Balasore 923 891 912 870 870 3 Argarh 923 889 913 891 913 4 Bhadrak 923 891 876 883 875 5 Bolangir 945 930 933 950 939 6 Boudh 983 957 936 934 918 7 Cuttack 860 874 860 854 843 8 Deogarh 896 954 958 954 938 9 Dhenkanal 856 833 850 845 849 10 Gajapati 875 930 927 890 892 11 Ganjam 902 880 867 813 794 12 Jagatsinghpur 912 905 842 777 852 13 Jajpur 863 876 828 824 823 14 Jharsuguda 859 902 882 908 878 15 Kalahandi 888 935 968 989 942 16 Kandhamal 912 943 950 962 940 17 Kendrapara 881 836 828 734 705 18 Keonjhar 934 923 950 965 930 19 Khurda 892 876 884 885 842 20 Koraput 935 943 960 945 942 21 Malkangiri 948 947 993 942 935 22 Mayurbhanj 955 934 936 931 933 23 Nawarangpur 962 932 936 979 965 24 Nayagarh 874 859 774 844 811 25 Nuapada 945 956 955 909 1055 26 Puri 933 888 874 873 854 27 Rayagada 955 954 939 931 945 28 Sambalpur 906 918 908 891 903 29 Subarnapur 940 934 946 939 965 30 Sundargarh 911 892 865 897 906
Odisha 911 902 896 886 889”
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Learned counsel submitted that when the sex ratio
reduces below 900, there is a signal of a social disaster. He
had pointed out that there were many districts where it had
fallen below 900 and drawn the attention of the Court to two
districts, namely, Kendrapara and Ganjam to highlight that
the sex ratio had gone down to 705 and 794 in 2014. Be it
stated, the two districts were only referred to highlight how
the sex ratio had fallen in the year 2014 than what it was in
2010.
27. We have adumbrated the history of the litigation, the
directions issued by this Court from time to time and
adverted to how this Court has appreciated the impact of
sex ratio on a civilized society having regard to the
legislative intendment under the Act, the suggestions given
by the learned counsel for the petitioner, the verification
done by the Monitoring Committee, and the crisis the
country is likely to face if the obtaining situation is allowed
to prevail. As is manifest, this Court had issued directions
from 2001 onwards in different writ petitions and in the
instant writ petition, as noticed earlier, number of directions
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were issued and, thereafter, certain clarifications were
made. The narration shows the concern.
28. It needs no special emphasis that a female child is
entitled to enjoy equal right that a male child is allowed to
have. The constitutional identity of a female child cannot be
mortgaged to any kind of social or other concept that has
developed or is thought of. It does not allow any room for
any kind of compromise. It only permits affirmative steps
that are constitutionally postulated. Be it clearly stated that
when rights are conferred by the Constitution, it has to be
understood that such rights are recognised regard being
had to their naturalness and universalism. No one, let it be
repeated, no one, endows any right to a female child or, for
that matter, to a woman. The question of any kind of
condescension or patronization does not arise.
29. When a female foetus is destroyed through artificial
means which is legally impermissible, the dignity of life of a
woman to be born is extinguished. It corrodes the human
values. The Legislature has brought a complete code and it
subserves the constitutional purpose. We may briefly refer
to the scheme of the Act and the Rules framed thereunder.
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Section 2 of the Act is the dictionary clause and it defines
“foetus”, “Genetic Counselling Centre”, “Genetic Clinic”,
“Genetic Laboratory”, “pre-natal diagnostic procedures”,
“pre-natal diagnostic techniques”, “pre-natal diagnostic
test”, “sex selection”, “sonologist or imaging specialist”.
Section 3 provides for Regulation of Genetic Counselling
Centers, Genetic Laboratories and Genetic Clinics. Section
3A imposes prohibition of sex-selection. Section 3B
prohibits the sale of ultrasound machine, etc., to persons,
laboratories, clinics, etc., not registered under the Act.
Section 4 regulates pre-natal diagnostic techniques.
Section 5 stipulates written consent of pregnant woman and
prohibition of communicating the sex of foetus. Section 6
prohibits determination of sex. Chapter IV of the Act deals
with the Central Supervisory Board. Sections 7 – 16A deal
with the constitution of the Board, meetings of the Board,
functions of the Board, which includes reviewing and
monitoring implementation of the Act and Rules made
thereunder. Section 16A commands the States and Union
Territories to have a Board to be known as the State
Supervisory Board or the Union Territory Supervisory
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Board, as the case may be, to carry out the functions
enumerated therein. Chapter V provides for the Appropriate
Authority and Advisory Committee. Sub-section (4) of
Section 17 deals with the powers of the Appropriate
Authority. The said provision being significant is extracted
hereunder:-
“(4) the Appropriate Authority shall have the following functions, namely – (a) to grant, suspend or cancel registration of a Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic; (b) to enforce standards prescribed for the Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory and Genetic Clinic; (c) to investigate complaints of breach of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder and take immediate action; (d)to seek and consider the advice of the Advisory Committee, constituted under sub-section (5), on application for registration and on complaints for suspension or cancellation of registration; (e) to take appropriate legal action against the use of any sex selection technique by any person at any place, suo motu or brought to its notice and also to initiate independent investigations in such matter; (f) to create public awareness against the practice of sex selection or pre-natal determination of sex; (g) to supervise the implementation of the provisions of the Act and rules; (h) to recommend to the Board and State Boards modifications required in the rules in accordance with changes in technology or social conditions; (i) to take action on the recommendations of the Advisory Committee made after investigation of
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complaint for suspension or cancellation of registration.”
30. Section 17A enumerates the powers of the Appropriate
Authorities. The said provision reads as follows:-
“17A. Powers of Appropriate Authorities.- The Appropriate Authority shall have the powers in respect of the following maters, namely:- (a) summoning of any person who is in possession of any information relating to violation of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder; (b) production of any document or material object relating to clause (a); (c) issuing search warrant for any place suspected to be indulging in sex selection techniques or pre-natal sex determination; and (d) any other matter which may be prescribed.”
31. Section 18 deals with the registration of Genetic
Counselling Centres, Genetic Laboratories or Genetic
Clinics. Sections 19 and 20 provide for certificate of
registration and cancellation or suspension of registration.
Chapter VII deals with offences and penalties. Section 22
stipulates prohibition of advertisement relating to
pre-conception and pre-natal determination of sex and
punishment for contravention and Section 23 deals with
offences and penalties. Section 24 which has been brought
into the Act by way of an amendment with effect from
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14.02.2003 states with regard to presumption in the case of
conduct of pre-natal diagnostic techniques. Section 26
provides for offences by companies. Section 28 provides
that no court shall take cognizance of an offence under the
Act except on a complaint made by the Appropriate
Authority concerned, or any officer authorized in this behalf
by the Central Government or State Government, as the
case may be, or the Appropriate Authority; or a person who
has given notice of not less than fifteen days in the manner
prescribed. Section 29 occurring in Chapter VIII which
deals with miscellaneous matters provides for maintenance
of records. Section 30 empowers the appropriate authority
in respect of search and seizure of records. The rule framed
under Section 32 of the Act is not comprehensive. Various
Forms have been provided to meet the requirement by the
Rules. On a perusal of the Rules and the Forms, it is clear
as crystal that attention has been given to every detail.
32. Having stated about the scheme of the Act and the
purpose of the various provisions and also the Rules framed
under the Act, the dropping of sex ratio still remains a
social affliction and a disease.
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33. Keeping in view the deliberations made from time to
time and regard being had to the purpose of the Act and the
far reaching impact of the problem, we think it appropriate
to issue the following directions in addition to the directions
issued in the earlier order:-
(a) All the States and the Union Territories in India shall
maintain a centralized database of civil registration records
from all registration units so that information can be made
available from the website regarding the number of boys
and girls being born.
(b) The information that shall be displayed on the website
shall contain the birth information for each District,
Municipality, Corporation or Gram Panchayat so that a
visual comparison of boys and girls born can be
immediately seen.
(c) The statutory authorities if not constituted as envisaged
under the Act shall be constituted forthwith and the
competent authorities shall take steps for the reconstitution
of the statutory bodies so that they can become immediately
functional after expiry of the term. That apart, they shall
meet regularly so that the provisions of the Act can be
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implemented in reality and the effectiveness of the
legislation is felt and realized in the society.
(d) The provisions contained in Sections 22 and 23 shall be
strictly adhered to. Section 23(2) shall be duly complied
with and it shall be reported by the authorities so that the
State Medical Council takes necessary action after the
intimation is given under the said provision. The
Appropriate Authorities who have been appointed under
Sections 17(1) and 17(2) shall be imparted periodical
training to carry out the functions as required under
various provisions of the Act.
(e) If there has been violation of any of the provisions of the
Act or the Rules, proper action has to be taken by the
authorities under the Act so that the legally inapposite acts
are immediately curbed.
(f) The Courts which deal with the complaints under the Act
shall be fast tracked and the concerned High Courts shall
issue appropriate directions in that regard.
(g) The judicial officers who are to deal with these cases
under the Act shall be periodically imparted training in the
Judicial Academies or Training Institutes, as the case may
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be, so that they can be sensitive and develop the requisite
sensitivity as projected in the objects and reasons of the Act
and its various provisions and in view of the need of the
society.
(h) The Director of Prosecution or, if the said post is not
there, the Legal Remembrancer or the Law Secretary shall
take stock of things with regard to the lodging of
prosecution so that the purpose of the Act is subserved.
(i) The Courts that deal with the complaints under the Act
shall deal with the matters in promptitude and submit the
quarterly report to the High Courts through the concerned
Sessions and District Judge.
(j) The learned Chief Justices of each of the High Courts in
the country are requested to constitute a Committee of three
Judges that can periodically oversee the progress of the
cases.
(k) The awareness campaigns with regard to the provisions
of the Act as well as the social awareness shall be
undertaken as per the direction No 9.8 in the order dated
March 4, 2013 passed in Voluntary Health Association of
Punjab (supra).
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(l) The State Legal Services Authorities of the States shall
give emphasis on this campaign during the spread of legal
aid and involve the para-legal volunteers.
(m) The Union of India and the States shall see to it that
appropriate directions are issued to the authorities of All
India Radio and Doordarshan functioning in various States
to give wide publicity pertaining to the saving of the girl
child and the grave dangers the society shall face because of
female foeticide.
(n) All the appropriate authorities including the States and
districts notified under the Act shall submit quarterly
progress report to the Government of India through the
State Government and maintain Form H for keeping the
information of all registrations readily available as per
sub-rule 6 of Rule 18A of the Rules.
(o) The States and Union Territories shall implement the
Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Prohibition of Sex Selection) (Six Months Training) Rules,
2014 forthwith considering that the training provided
therein is imperative for realising the objects and purpose of
this Act.
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(p) As the Union of India and some States framed incentive
schemes for the girl child, the States that have not framed
such schemes, may introduce such schemes.
34. Before parting with the case, let it be stated with
certitude and without allowing any room for any kind of
equivocation or ambiguity, the perception of any individual
or group or organization or system treating a woman with
inequity, indignity, inequality or any kind of discrimination
is constitutionally impermissible. The historical perception
has to be given a prompt burial. Female foeticide is
conceived by the society that definitely includes the parents
because of unethical perception of life and nonchalant
attitude towards law. The society that treats man and
woman with equal dignity shows the reflections of a
progressive and civilized society. To think that a woman
should think what a man or a society wants her to think is
tantamounts to slaughtering her choice, and definitely a
humiliating act. When freedom of free choice is allowed
within constitutional and statutory parameters, others
cannot determine the norms as that would amount to acting
in derogation of law. Decrease in the sex ratio is a sign of
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colossal calamity and it cannot be allowed to happen.
Concrete steps have to be taken to increase the same so
that invited social disasters do not befall on the society. The
present generation is expected to be responsible to the
posterity and not to take such steps to sterilize the birth
rate in violation of law. The societal perception has to be
metamorphosed having respect to legal postulates.
35. Now, we shall advert to the prayers in Writ Petition
(Civil) No. 575 of 2014. The writ petition has been filed by
Indian Medical Association (IMA). It is contended that
Sections 3-A, 4, 5, 6, 7, 16, 17, 20, 23, 25, 27 and 30 of the
Act and Rules 9(4), 10 & Form “F” (including foot-note),
which being the subject matter of concern in the instant
writ petition, are being misused and wrongly interpreted by
the concerned authorities thereby causing undue
harassment to the medical professionals all over the country
under the guise of the ‘so-called implementation’. It is also
urged that, implementation of steps and scrutiny of records
was started at large scale all over the country and lot of
anomalies were found in records maintained by doctors
throughout the country. It is however pertinent to mention
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here that the majority of the defaults were of technical
nature as they were merely minor and clerical errors
committed occasionally and inadvertently in the filing of
Form “F”. It is also put forth that the Act does not classify
the offences and owing to the liberal and vague terminology
used in the Act, it is thrown open for misuse by the
concerned implementing authorities and has resulted into
taking of cognizance of non-bailable (punishable by three
years) offences against doctors even in the cases of clerical
errors, for instance non-mentioning of N.A. (Not Applicable)
or leaving of any column in the concerned Form “F” as
blank. It is further submitted that the said unfettered
powers in the hands of implementing authority have
resulted into turning of this welfare legislation into a
draconian novel way of encouraging demands for bribery as
well as there is no prior independent investigation as
mandated under Section 17 of the Act by these Authorities.
It is also set forth that the Act states merely that any
contravention with any of the provisions of the Act would be
an offence punishable under Section 23(1) of the said Act
and further all offences under the Act have been made
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non-bailable and non-compoundable and the misuse of the
same can only be taken care of by ensuring that the
Appropriate Authority applies its mind to the fact of each
case/complaint and only on satisfaction of a prima facie
case, a complaint be filed rather than launching prosecution
mechanically in each case. With these averments, it has
been prayed for framing appropriate guidelines and
safeguard parameters, providing for classification of offences
as well, so as to prohibit the misuse of the PCPNDT Act
during implementation and to read down this Sections 6,
23, 27 of PCPNDT Act. That apart, it has been prayed to
add certain provisos/exceptions to Sections 7, 17, 23 and
Rule 9 of the Rules.
36. In our considered opinion, whenever there is an abuse
of the process of the law, the individual can always avail the
legal remedy. As we find, neither the validity of the Act nor
the Rules has been specifically assailed in the writ petition.
What has been prayed is to read out certain provisions and
to add certain exceptions. We are of the convinced view
that the averments of the present nature with such prayers
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cannot be entertained and, accordingly, we decline to
interfere.
37. In the result, Writ Petition (Civil) No. 349 of 2006
stands disposed of in terms of the directions issued by us
and Writ Petition (Civil) No. 575 of 2014 stands dismissed.
In the facts and circumstances of the case, there shall be no
order as to costs.
.............................J. [Dipak Misra]
............................ J. [Shiva Kirti Singh]
New Delhi; November 8, 2016
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