Discrimination against the girl child and by extension women is still prevalent in several parts of the country. The first step towards commission of such an offence is in the form of sex determination of the foetus. Female foeticide is a matter of national concern. Therefore, the Parliament has stepped in not only outlawing sex determination and selection but also prohibiting all related pre-conception and pre-natal techniques and procedures, making it mandatory to maintain the relevant record in the prescribed format. Social welfare statutes, like the PCPNDT Act, must be implemented with all seriousness.
The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (‘the PCPNDT Act’) is a social welfare legislation.
Preamble of the PCPNDT Act says that it is an Act to provide for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex linked disorders and for the prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. It is a law enacted to prohibit sex selection leading to female foeticide in India. Its aim is to arrest the declining sex ratio in India.
The objectives of the PCPNDT Act declare that the Act provides for prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques to prevent their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
The PCPNDT Act, provides for:
(i) prohibition of the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for determination of the sex of the foetus, leading to female foeticide;
(ii) prohibition of advertisement of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for detection or determination of sex;
(iii) permission and regulation of the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purpose of detection of specific genetic abnormalities or disorders;
(iv) permitting the use of such techniques only under certain conditions by the registered institutions; and
(v) punishment for violation of the provisions of the Act.
It is a social welfare legislation which was conceived in the light of the skewed sex ratio in India and to avoid the consequences of the same. A skewed sex ratio is likely to lead to greater incidences of violence against women and increase in practices of trafficking, bride-buying etc. It is an effort to save the girl child. The focus of the PCPNDT Act is to protect the right to life of the girl child under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Discrimination against women, more particularly against the girl child, is widely prevalent across several parts of the country. It is with a view to prevent such crime and to align with the global perspective for a discrimination free world, that the aforesaid legislation has been enacted in India.
No pre-natal diagnostic techniques shall be conducted except for the purposes of detection of any of the following abnormalities, namely:—
(i) chromosomal abnormalities;
(ii) genetic metabolic diseases;
(iii) haemoglobinopathies;
(iv) sex-linked genetic diseases;
(v) congenital anomalies, etc.
Under this Act, there is a clear limitation on the taking of cognizance by criminal courts, thereby ensuring that prosecutions under this specialized social welfare legislation are instituted in a controlled and legally structured manner. It mandates that no court shall take cognizance of an offence under the PCPNDT Act except on a complaint made by the appropriate authority or by any officer authorized in this behalf by the Central Government or by the State Government or by the appropriate authority itself. Non-maintenance of the record in the prescribed form would be an offence under the PCPNDT Act and the Rules.