ORDER

1. Indian society’s discrimination towards female child still exists due to various reasons which has its roots in the social behaviour and prejudices against the female child and, due to the evils of the dowry system, still prevailing in the society, in spite of its prohibition under the Dowry Prohibition Act. The decline in the female child ratio all over the country leads to an irresistible conclusion that the practice of eliminating female foetus by the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques is widely prevalent in this country. Complaints are many, where at least few of the medical professionals do perform Sex Selective Abortion having full knowledge that the sole reason for abortion is because it is a female foetus. The provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 are also being consciously violated and misused.

2. The Parliament wanted to prevent the same and enacted the Pre- Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition on Sex- Selection) Act, 1994 (for short ‘the Act’) which has its roots in Article 15(2) of the Constitution of India. The Act is a welfare legislation. The Parliament was fully conscious of the fact that the increasing imbalance between men and women leads to increased crime against women, trafficking, sexual assault, polygamy etc. Unfortunately, facts reveal that perpetrators of the crime also belong to the educated middle class and often they do not perceive the gravity of the crime. This Court, as early as, in 2001 in Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes v. Union of India (2001) 5 SCC 577 had noticed the misuse of the Act and gave various directions for its proper implementation. Non- compliance of various directions was noticed by this Court again in Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes v. Union of India (2003) 8 SCC 398 and this Court gave various other directions.

3. Having noticed that those directions as well as the provisions of the Act are not being properly implemented by the various States and Union Territories, we passed an order on 8.1.2013 directing personal appearance of the Health Secretaries of the States of Punjab, Haryana, NCT Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra, to examine what steps they have taken for the proper and effective implementation of the provisions of the Act as well as the various directions issued by this Court. We notice that, even though, the Union of India has constituted the Central Supervisory Board and most of the States and Union Territories have constituted State Supervisory Boards, Appropriate Authorities, Advisory Committees etc. under the Act, but their functioning are far from satisfactory. 2011 Census of India, published by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, would show a decline in female child sex ratio in many States of India from 2001-2011. The Annual Report on Registration of Births and Deaths - 2009, published by the Chief Registrar of NCT of Delhi would also indicate a sharp decline in the female sex ratio in almost all the Districts. Above statistics is an indication that the provisions of the Act are not properly and effectively being implemented. There has been no effective supervision or follow up action so as to achieve the object and purpose of the Act. Mushrooming of various Sonography Centres, Genetic Clinics, Genetic Counselling Centres, Genetic Laboratories, Ultrasonic Clinics, Imaging Centres in almost all parts of the country calls for more vigil and attention by the authorities under the Act. But, unfortunately, their functioning is not being properly monitored or supervised by the authorities under the Act or to find out whether they are misusing the pre-natal diagnostic techniques for determination of sex of foetus leading to foeticide.

4. The Union of India has filed an affidavit in September 2011 giving the details of the prosecutions launched under the Act and the Pre- Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohi