The High Court of Karnataka has said that none of the guidelines was adhered to while suspending the license and registering a criminal case against a medical diagnostic center in Bengaluru for alleged violations. , Photo Credit:
Observing that guidelines on initiating action under the provisions of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, appear to be only on paper, the High Court of Karnataka has said that none of the guidelines was Adhered to while suspending the license and registering a criminal case against a medical diagnostic center for alleged violations.
“Leaving loopholes in law would only form a protective veneer to the violators of the law, if any. “The loopholes should not blur the intent behind the enactment and the rigor of provisions of the Act,” the court observed while directing the government to ensure that the authorities concerned strictly adhered to the guidelines while conducting inspection and registration of criminal cases under this law.
notice before issuing
Justice M. Nagaprasanna issued the direction while pointing out that the health authorities had suspended the license of a diagnostic center and registered a criminal case against it even before issuing a notice asking to show cause why the license should not be suspended, which is contrary to the law and the guidelines, which specifies that these actions should be taken after issuing notice and hearing replies from the alleged violators.
Meanwhile, the court quashed the criminal case registered against medical practitioner Subhalakshmi N., who is proprietor of Medizone Medical Centre, Kaggadasapura in Bengaluru, and Moscow Mani SA, radiologist, and suspension of the license of the medical centre.
However, the court directed the authorities to issue a fresh notice to which the petitioner-doctors would have to reply within a week. Also, the court gave liberty to the authorities to initiate fresh action, if need be, after the receipt of reply.
same day suspension
The court found that the license of the center was suspended on December 8, 2023, the day on which the inspection was conducted and also a show-cause notice was issued giving seven days to reply why the license should not be suspended.
Apart from other violations such as not securing the signatures of four pregnant women who had come for scanning, the court noted that the complaint had also alleged that illegal prenatal sex determination of these four women was performed at the centre.
Sex determination?
However, noticing that these four women were between five weeks and nine weeks of pregnancy as per the seized records and were referred by different doctors with prescriptions, the court observed, “It is un-understandable as to how between five weeks and nine weeks of pregnancy the determination of sex of the fetus can happen when it is in the public domain that sex of a fetus can be determined only after 12 to 14 weeks.”
While pointing out that the action of inspecting the diagnostic centers is laudable as it is imperative today to check the growth of cases of female foeticide which happen due to the determination of sex at the centers illegally, the court said that such action cannot be initiated without compliance with the provisions of the law as every diagnostic center cannot be painted with the same brush.
