High Court Denies Bail to Doctor Accused in Gender Determination Racket

The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed a plea filed by a doctor from Haryana's Hisar, requesting the concession of anticipatory bail in a case booked against him under the provisions of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act and IPC. The court described the act as "female infanticide" and called it a deeply disturbing issue.

According to the Tribune, Justice Kaul stated that the petitioner was being accused of running a large-scale illegal sex determination scheme in the states of Punjab and Haryana by employing a portable ultrasound machine in secret locations. Before being brought to the places, it is said that customers were blinded in order to evade detection. Additionally, the petitioner was involved in seven other criminal cases, five of which featured PCPNDT Act offenses that were identical to the petitioner's.

The involvement of unethical medical professionals in aiding in the termination of the female fetus through sex determination tests was described as "reprehensive" by the HC bench of Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul during the consideration of the plea.

The bench went on to say that these kinds of acts amount to a serious breach of the fundamental values of the medical profession.

The petitioner doctor was booked in October 2023 at the Barwala Police Station in the Hisar district under the terms of the PCPNDT Act, according to a recent media article by The Tribune. The HC bench said, with reference to the "deeply disturbing" problem of female infanticide,

"An alarming aspect is the involvement of unethical medical practitioners who in violation of the Hippocratic oath covertly conduct sex determination tests, thus, enabling this grave crime."

The Court observed, in reference to certain physicians' practice of secretly administering the sex determination test in violation of their ethical obligations and the standards of medical practice,

"The Hippocratic oath demands that doctors protect life and cause no harm. However, some of these practitioners motivated by greed, become complicit in the extermination of female foetuses. The involvement of unethical medical practitioners in facilitating this practice through clandestine sex determination test is particularly reprehensible, as it represents the betrayal of the very principles of the medical profession."

According to Law Trend, the petitioner doctor was the target of several criminal prosecutions for allegedly employing portable ultrasound machines at hidden locations to conduct gender determination tests. The prosecutors claim that in order to keep these sites secret, the customers were blindfolded on the way there.

The State's attorney argued that despite the doctor's involvement in the inquiry since December 2023, the doctor had been resistant in not turning over the laptop and ultrasound machine that were utilized for the tests. The State attorney insisted that he be held for additional questioning due to his persistent refusal to cooperate.

The HC bench noted the violation of medical ethics and principles by some doctors who were motivated by greed, thereby engaging in the death of the female fetuses, and dismissed the defense's assertions that the FIRs under the PC & PNDT Act were inadmissible while assessing the case.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Priyanka Pandey/MSM)