The Supreme Court on Thursday directed search engines Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to constitute an in-house expert body to ensure that any material related to pre-natal sex determination of foetus, which is prohibited under Indian laws, can be removed from their search results.
The Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and R Banumathi said that such an order became necessary to pass as the country’s sex ratio was deplorable and if urgent steps are not taken to enforce the Pre-Conception, Pre-Natal Diagnostics Techniques Act, 1994, it may pose a “disaster” for mankind in the near future.
The “in-house expert body” to be put up by the internet giants was in addition to a Nodal Agency set up by the Central Health Ministry that will monitor complaints on violation of PC-PNDT Act, 1994 and direct the search engines to remove any such advertisement or content seen to promote, solicit or facilitate sex determination of foetus, considered an offence under Section 22 of the Act. Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar informed the Court that the agency is in place with an officer-in-charge to deal with public complaints.
As the counsels for internet companies pleaded not to put the onus of removing the content on them as it has serious legal consequences, the bench gave the option to these companies to refer any doubtful content to the Centre’s Nodal Agency and take action as per their recommendation. The Court said that the attempt was to make these internet companies more responsive to Indian law and to enforce the Act in letter and spirit. The order came on a petition by a medical doctor Sabu Mathew George.