Abortion based on sex-determination is a powerful method of perpetuating gender inequalities, the Delhi High Court has said, emphasising the law must have teeth to sternly deal with such situations till attitudinal changes at family level are achieved.
The restriction of access to foetal sex information is directly related to the problem of misogyny which affects women of all socioeconomic backgrounds not only in this country but globally as well, the court said. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma made the observations while passing a slew of directions to the authorities for a strict implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 (PCPNDT Act). The high court’s order came while refusing to quash an FIR against a doctor who was booked under several sections of the PCPNDT Act after a raid was conducted at a hospital here on information regarding illegal sex determination. It, however, set aside as bad in law the cognisance taken by the trial court in the absence of any complaint filed by appropriate authority under Section 28 of the Act. The court said the well-intended and well-implemented PCPNDT Act and Rules are means for intervention to combat gender imbalance. “The social context of the Act as well as the offence need to be remembered, and it has to be kept in mind that the gender-based violence, whether be it safety of a female child after birth or even when she is not born, is not only the concern of the State, but also of the Courts of law,” it said.
