Madras HC upholds police power on PC PNDT cases

Written by Barsha Misra Published On 2022-07-08T09:30:11+05:30 | Updated On 8 July 2022 9:30 AM IST

Madras HC upholds police power on PC PNDT cases

Chennai: Upholding the power of police, the Madras High Court has recently held that doctors, who are violating the law and performing the sex determination test on pregnant women can get arrested or booked for the crime.

The Pre Conception- and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act demands that only appropriate authorities can take investigate or take legal action for any violation.

However, the HC bench comprising of Justice G Jayachandran referred to Sections 4 and 5 of the CrPC and held that all offences under law other except from IPC can also be investigated, enquired and tried following the procedures under the code. The only exception is in the case of alternate procedure mentioned in the code that barring the police from investigation.

"If police are prohibited from registering FIR or to investigate, if in case of any imminent necessity to arrest a person to prevent commission of any offence under the Pre Conception- and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, no authority can do it and the offence cannot be prevented but only by punished after commission," noted the HC bench.

The court also noted if the interpretation that only an appropriate authority notified under the act gets permission register complaint for the violation of law under the act gets permitted to stay, then the act's aim of stopping female feticide will get defeated.

Also Read: Gurugram: Illegal Sex Determination Racket Busted, Doctor among three arrested

Such observations came from the HC bench while it was considering a plea moved by Dr Dhamayanthi Rajkumar of Sree Mathurra Hospital, Attur, Salem. The plea had been filed by the doctor as she challenged the FIR against her for allegedly conducting sex determination test.

As per the latest media report by the Times of India, the doctor claimed that as per the Act, only and exclusively appropriate authorities can probe any breach of the provisions of the Act and take legal actions for that. Referring to this, the doctor argued pointed out that police is not an appropriate authority and therefore cannot book a doctor or investigate.

However, dismissing such an argument, the HC bench referred to Sections 4 and 5 of the CrPC and held, "The act does not confer power of arrest to the appropriate authority though the offence is classified as cognizable offences. In the instant case itself, the information says, apart from the decoy, many more pregnant ladies were waiting for the sex selection test. If the accused was not arrested any of the patient on knowing the sex might have opted for termination of pregnancy and would have avail the facilities in that hospital."

Also Read: Raid: Doctor among 3 held for allegedly running prenatal sex determination racket

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Source : with inputs

Barsha Misra

Barsha completed her Master's in English from the University of Burdwan, West Bengal in 2018. Having a knack for Journalism she joined Medical Dialogues back in 2020. She mainly covers news about medico legal cases, NMC/DCI updates, medical education issues including the latest updates about medical and dental colleges in India. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.