Driven to wall by frequent judicial intervention, the state governments across the country are in the process of initiating prosecution measures against clinics promoting pre-natal sex selection through advertisements. According to the observations made by the central government, recent cases of advertisements about the facilities for selection of sex have come to light in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Maharashtra.
The Delhi government has recently launched prosecution measures against "India Abroad", a weekly magazine, "Life Positive", a monthly, and dailies like 'Times of India" and "Punjab Kesari" for publishing such advertisements in violation of section 22 of the Pre-conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act.
If the publications are at the receiving end in Delhi, it's the institutions that advertised sex selection services that are in trouble in other states. The government of Maharashtra had recently moved against Malpani Infertility Clinic for issuing such advertisement on their web site. The government move was based on a Supreme Court directive on a PIL filed by Centre for Enquiry into Health & Allied Themes (CEHAT). The court had on July 7, 2003 asked the state government to take appropriate action against the clinic and file compliance report within three weeks.
Similar prosecution measures are being taken by other state governments also against erring infertility clinics, it is learnt.
The central government had, recently, constituted a national inspection and monitoring committee to monitor the implementation of the Act through field inspections. This was after the government amended the Act to bring in within its ambit the advertisements made on Internet about the facilities of pre-natal detection / disclosure of sex of foetus and pre-conception sex selection by any means - scientific or otherwise.
It had brought the technique of pre-conception sex selection within the ambit of the Act, brought the use of ultrasound machines within the purview of the Act more explicitly so as to curb their misuse for detection and disclosure of sex of the foetus, empowerment of central supervisory board for monitoring and implementation of the Act.
The other amendments include introduction of state level supervisory board and multi member state appropriate authority for monitoring and reviewing the implementation of the Act in the states / Uts, more stringent punishments for violations, more authority for the inspection authorities, requirement of maintenance of records of the use of ultrasound machines and other equipment and provisions to regulate the sale of ultrasound machines to the clinics registered under the Act.