The Apex Court today gave green signal to hear the plea which seeks Centre’s intervention to block an American website which provides information about a diagnostic kit used for sex determination.
An NGO, Voluntary Health Association of Punjab filed the plea which will be heard on February 15 as was decided by the Bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan including Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice J.M. Panchal.
The NGO took initiative to bring this matter to the court’s notice about the Baby Gender Mentor Kit which was published in newspaper in Punjab. The kit helps its user to know the sex of the foetus after analysing the blood sample of the pregnant lady.
The website clearly violets the 1994 act of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic techniques (Prohibition on Sex-Selection) Act, (PNDT) which prohibits sex-determination test.
The website also gave information on the channels through which one can buy the kit and send the blood samples outside the country through private courier Fedex.
The plea while seeking blanket ban for the website also said that both the website and courier service are violation of PNDT act and hence must be stopped from perpetuating such offences.
The PIL filed by NGO is laudable, for India has become a picture of dwindling sex ratio specially the northern states of India; Punjab and Haryana where sex ration has come to an alarming point.
PIL has become a way to get inexpensive legal remedy; the litigants can help to address larger public issues, especially issues concerned with human rights, consumer welfare and environment.
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