By the Court.—We have heard Shri S.P. Giri, learned counsel for the petitioner. Learned Standing Counsel appears for the State respondents.

2. The petitioner is a qualified and registered medial practitioner. He also claims to have undergone training in Ultrasonography in the year 1997 at Indian College of Medical Ultrasound, which is running basic ultrasound training course in OBC & GYN Sonography. He owns Ultrasound machine and is providing ultrasound test facilities in the name of ‘Ashish Ultrasound and X-rays Center’ Hospital Road Padrauna District Kushi Nagar since 2003.

3. In this writ petition the petitioner has prayed for quashing the order dated 16.3.2013 passed by the District Magistrate/Appropriate Authority, Kushi Nagar by which he has cancelled License No. 01 dated 29.12.2006 granted to ‘Ashish Ultrasound and X-rays Center Hospital Road Padrauna District Kushi Nagar’, to run the Ultrasound Test Center on the grounds that the petitioner has violated the provisions of Section 4 (3) of the ‘Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex and Selection) Act, 1994 (PC & PNDT Act, 1994) and Rule 9 (4) and Rule 10 (1-A) of the Rules framed under the Act.

4. It is stated by learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner is running Ultrasound Centre since 2003 without any complaint from any person. He is submitting statutory returns and forms to the satisfaction of the registration authority. The petitioner claims to be a highly qualified medical practitioner with MBBS (1968) and M.S. (1971) Degrees and experience in ultrasonography. He maintains records in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the Rules and has published a public notice by putting up a board in front of his clinic that there is restriction of diagnosis for sex selection by ultrasound machine, which amounts to an offence.

5. It is submitted that a news report was published by Dr. Neelam Singh, a gynecologist, an activist associated with ‘Save the Girl Child’ reporting the sex ratio in Distt. Kushi Nagar is 694 girls to 1000 boys, as against the national sex ratio of 940 girls to 1000 boys. The report is not authentic and was published to give a wrong information to the people of Distt. Kushinagar. The report is also highly improbable and much below the census report of 2011, which gives sex ratio of 955/1000. The report published by Dr. Neelam Singh was neither seen nor placed before the appropriate authority particularly before the Advisory Board or the Advisory Committee. The district administration appears to be falsely alarmed by the report and decided to take action. On 16.2.2013 the Chief Medical Officer and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Kushi Nagar inspected the petitioner’s clinic and without calling for any explanation from the petitioner sealed the clinic unauthorisedly by an illegal and arbitrary action. A show-cause notice was, thereafter, issued to the petitioner on 19.2.2013 referring to the inspection dated 16.2.2013, seeking his explanation with regard to use of ultrasound machine in his clinic. The petitioner submitted his reply on 27.2.2013, which was duly received by the District Magistrate. In his reply the petitioner submitted that vague allegations have been levelled against him that he has not complied with the provisions of Section 4 (3), 9 (1), 9 (4) and 10 (1-A) of the PC & PNDT Act, 1994 and that Form-F was not properly maintained.

6. It is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner has been maintaining all the forms as prescribed under the Act and the Rules, and as a qualified and registered medical practitioner he has right to run the clinic. The entire action was illegal, arbitrary and unjustified.

7. It is further submitted by learned counsel appearing for the petitioner that the allegations against the petitioner are only confined to the non-maintenance of the records under Rule 9 and 10 of the PC & PNDT Rules. The petitioner had not only given detailed