The Centre on Tuesday came under attack in the Supreme Court for its “sloppy” efforts to check female foeticide in the country. The Court, hearing a PIl to implement the law prohibiting pre-natal sex determination, felt that everything was left to the fate as the law largely remained unimplemented.
A bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, directed the Centre and State Governments to indicate what steps had been taken to implement Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act following an elaborate judgment of this Court on March 4, 2013.
“What are you (Centre) doingIJ You make law but don’t do anything to implement it and leave it to the fate,” the bench said. “You are becoming sloppy on the issue and appropriate authorities are not taking any action at all,” it said.
The bench directed the Additional Secretary of Health and Health Secretaries at State-level to file the affidavit to indicate within four weeks on what action was taken and results, if any, that it achieved to stop female foeticide. An exception was carved out for Jammu and Kashmir to file the affidavit in six weeks.
“We may hasten to add that the affidavits shall be comprehensive and must reflect sincerity and responsibility. It should not be an affidavit in formality,” the bench said.
In its order of last year, SC directed the Centre and all States to act tough against people indulging in female foeticide for effective implementation of PNDT Act. It had directed the Governments to map all ultra-sonography clinics within three months and asked the lower courts to dispose all cases for violation of the Act within a period of six months to bring the accused to book.
The court order came on a PIl by NGO Voluntary Health Association of Punjab that pointed out the sharp dip in the girls: boys ratio across the country. The average count of girl child (0-6 years) in the country has dropped to 914 per 1000 boys as per the Census 2011 which was earlier 927 in the 2001 Census, the petition alleged.