Online search engines should check sex determination ads, says Supreme Court

Noting that online search engines Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are under an “obligation” to check pre-natal sex determination advertisements, the Supreme Court has directed them to develop in-house methods to prohibit such content.

What has the court said?

Search engines are under obligation to see that the ‘doctrine of auto block’ is applied within a reasonable period of time. Also, it has to be an in-house procedure/method to be introduced by the companies.

Background:

PCPNDT law prohibits pre-natal sex determination. The PCPNDT Act was brought in to stop female foeticide and arrest the declining sex ratio in India. Under this Act, gender selection is prohibited.

About PCPNDT Act:

The Pre-conception & Pre-natal Diagnostics Techniques (PC & PNDT) Act, 1994 was enacted in response to the decline in Sex ratio in India, which deteriorated from 972 in 1901 to 927 in 1991.

• The main purpose of enacting the act is to ban the use of sex selection techniques before or after conception and prevent the misuse of prenatal diagnostic technique for sex selective abortion.
• Offences under this act include conducting or helping in the conduct of prenatal diagnostic technique in the unregistered units, sex selection on a man or woman, conducting PND test for any purpose other than the one mentioned in the act, sale, distribution, supply, renting etc. of any ultra sound machine or any other equipment capable of detecting sex of the foetus.

Key features of the act:

The Act provides for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception.

• It regulates the use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques, like ultrasound and amniocentesis by allowing them their use only to detect few cases.
• No laboratory or centre or clinic will conduct any test including ultrasonography for the purpose of determining the sex of the foetus.
• No person, including the one who is conducting the procedure as per the law, will communicate the sex of the foetus to the pregnant woman or her relatives by words, signs or any other method.
• Any person who puts an advertisement for pre-natal and pre-conception sex determination facilities in the form of a notice, circular, label, wrapper or any document, or advertises through interior or other media in electronic or print form or engages in any visible representation made by means of hoarding, wall painting, signal, light, sound, smoke or gas, can be imprisoned for up to three years and fined Rs. 10,000.
• The Act mandates compulsory registration of all diagnostic laboratories, all genetic counselling centres, genetic laboratories, genetic clinics and ultrasound clinics.

Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994: 

PNDT was amended in 2003 to The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition Of Sex Selection) Act (PCPNDT Act) to improve the regulation of the technology used in sex selection. 

• The Act was amended to bring the technique of pre conception sex selection and ultrasound technique within the ambit of the act. 
• The amendment also empowered the central supervisory board and state level supervisory board was constituted. 
• In 1988, the State of Maharashtra became the first in the country to ban pre-natal sex determination through enacting the Maharashtra Regulation of Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques Act.