TN Court upholds 3-year jail for doctor on PCNDT violation

With this, it has become the first case in the State where a doctor has been jailed for female foeticide followed by illegal sex determination.

Upholding the earlier order of the Neyveli District Munsif-cum-Magistrate court in January 2021, the Cuddalore Sessions Court was quoted observing in the judgment by News 18, "the accused indulged in female foeticide by revealing the sex of the foetus and caused miscarriage to the patient".

The case against the doctor goes back to May 2014, when the healthcare officials conducted a raid at the clinic of the Neyveli-based doctor based on a complaint forwarded by the then Perambalur District Collector. The complaint alleged that despite sex determination tests being banned in the country to prevent female foeticide, the medical practitioner had been disclosing the sex of the foetus and performing sex-selective abortions in his private nursing home.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that an initial investigation by the district authorities had revealed that the doctor had been habitually violating the PCPNDT act. He was found to be routinely revealing the gender of foetus after an ultrasound scan.

The report of an inspection conducted by the Joint Director and the Collector in 2014 was sent to the Director of Medical Services who had further sent the report to the TNMC. Following the inspection report and the recommendation made thereafter, the Council had barred the doctor from practice in 2016.

This year, the accused doctor had been sentenced to three years of imprisonment by a district court for violation of several provisions of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu doctor sentenced to 3 years jail for violating PCPNDT, MTP Act

Now, the Cuddalore Sessions court has upheld the decision of the Neyveli District Munsif-cum-Magistrate court and the bench observed, "the accused indulged in female foeticide by revealing the sex of the foetus and caused miscarriage to the patient," adds News 18.

Recollecting how the convict was caught red-handed Kamalakannan, then superintendent at the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services, who was part of the inspection team told News 18, "We got a tip-off from a village health nurse in Perambalur. When we tracked the patient, we were led to a nursing home in Neyveli. We conducted a surprise raid in 2014. There seems to have been many patients who were made to escape the place immediately on our arrival. But one patient was kept hidden in one of the rooms, as her foetus was just getting expelled. She became our witness. On enquiry it was found that Dr **** revealed the sex of the foetus as female and the patient was given tablets for abortion. We sent the patient to Cuddalore GH for further treatment and gathered all evidence to file a strong case".

"Under the PCPNDT Act, the maximum jail term is three years. This is nothing for such a heinous crime… This judgment I feel is very important for women and needs to be celebrated," said the former Chief Medical Officer of Virudhachalam, Dr Saminathan, who had filed the case.

While commenting on the matter, Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services S Gurunathan said mentioned how this is the first time the crime has been proven beyond doubt and a doctor has been convicted in the court of law.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu Medical Council suspends three doctors in different cases