The court established that anticipatory bail in cases involving violations of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act is deniable due to the severe societal impact and the necessity for custodial interrogation in ongoing investigations.

JUDGMENT

Mr. N.S.Shekhawat, J. (Oral)

The petitioner has filed the instant petition under Section 4 38 of the Cr.P.C. with a prayer to grant a anticipatory bail to him in case FIR No.574 dated 21.08.2023 registered under Sections 3 , 4. 5, 6. 18, 23 and 29 of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse), Act, 1994 (hereinafter to be referred as the PC and PNDT Act), Section 3 4 of National Medical Commission Act, 2019 and Sections 4 20 and 120B IPC registered at Police Station Assandh, District Karnal.

2. The FIR in the present case was registered on the basis of complaint moved by the Deputy Civil Surgeon (PC and PNDT) Karnal. As per the complainant, for the past few days, the Civil Surgeon, Karnal, was receiving some secret information that the illegal sex determination was being conducted in his area. In view of this, the Chairperson, District Appropriate Authority-cum-Civil Surgeon, Karnal arranged one pregnant decoy customer Ms. Mafi wife of Manjit Singh and Dr. Sandeep, RMP was contacted through a social worker, who demanded a sum of Rs. 20,000/- for determination sex through ultra sound and the date for ultra sound was fixed after one week. On 21.08.2023, Dr. Sandeep contacted social worker and told her that ultra sound would be performed at the residence of the patient itself. Consequently, a raiding team of doctor Sheenu Chaudhary, Dr. Sube Singh and Dr. Paramjit Singh was constituted by the Civil Surgeon. At about 1.10 p.m., three persons came with a portable machine for sex determination in a white colour Rits car and raided the house of the decoy pregnant women. In the meantime, the team, which was standing outside, caught the persons, who had conducted ultra sound and their names were Ashok and Dr. Sandeep RMP and out of them one person fled away from the spot alongwith the portable ultra sound machine. The decoy pregnant women disclosed that ultra sound was performed after using a jelly on her stomach and vide which foetus was told "as a girl". Thereafter, spot memo was prepared and the FIR was registered. As per the complainant, Ashok Kumar was already facing four FIRs, i.e., FIR No. 212 dated 15.04.2016, FIR No. 671 dated 27.09.2019, FIR No. 560 dated 10.09.2020 and FIR No. 274 dated 08.05.2018, which were registered in Police Station Assandh under the provisions of the PC and PNDT. As per the complainant, third person was also involved with them and he fled from the spot alongwith portable ultra sound machine. With these broad allegations, the FIR in the present case was got registered by the complainant. During the course of investigation, Ashok Kumar and Dr. Sandeep, RMP were formally arrested and they disclosed the name of the third person as Narnder Duhan resident of village Phaphrana, Tehsil Assandh, District Karnal, the present petitioner. Consequently, apprehending the arrest, the petitioner has filed the present petition before this Court.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the petitioner was not named in the FIR and the FIR has been registered only against Ashok Kumar, Dr. Sandeep and one unknown person. Learned counsel further contends that the petitioner has been implicated in the present case, only on the basis of the disclosure statement suffered by the co-accused, which is otherwise inadmissible in evidence. Learned counsel further contends that the police had no time to register the case under the PC and PNDT Act, because as per the Section 28 of the PC and PNDT Act, no Court shall take cognizance of the offence except on the complaint filed by