In Brief
This judgment addresses the persistent crisis of female foeticide and declining sex ratios across India under the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994. The Supreme Court found that despite legislative provisions and earlier judicial directions since 2001, State and Union Territory authorities had failed to effectively implement the Act. After verifying sex-ratio data submitted by States, the Court issued comprehensive directions including: establishing centralized civil registration databases, constituting and activating statutory bodies, fast-tracking court cases, training judicial officers and prosecutors, and conducting nationwide awareness campaigns. The Court rejected a separate petition seeking to read down sections of the Act, holding that no constitutional challenge was validly made. The Court emphasised that the declining sex ratio represents a national calamity and that equal constitutional protections for female children are non-negotiable and cannot be compromised by social or cultural notions."
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