New Delhi, 20 August (H.S.): The Supreme Court, in a significant ruling, has held that police cannot ordinarily investigate offences related to the illegal determination of foetal sex or directly register FIRs in such cases. A bench headed by Justice Sanjay Karol observed that the authorities specifically designated under the law must play the primary role in dealing with such offences.

The court said that the police cannot assume the role of an investigating agency under the law. However, it clarified that police authorities may provide limited assistance when required by the appropriate authority. The Supreme Court agreed with the Allahabad High Court's view that, in cases involving violations of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, the police cannot independently conduct an investigation or register an FIR.

The court observed that cases under the legislation are technical in nature and require medical expertise as well as a sensitive approach. Therefore, the law does not designate the police as the primary investigating agency for such offences.

The case concerned a doctor from Uttar Pradesh against whom the police had registered an FIR in 2017 under the PCPNDT Act. The doctor was accused of illegally determining the sex of foetuses and assisting couples in preventing the birth of female children.

The doctor had approached the High Court seeking quashing of the proceedings, arguing that an FIR could not be registered under the Act because Section 28 specifies that a complaint can be made only by the appropriate authority or a person authorised under the law. He contended that, in his case, the FIR had been registered on the basis of a complaint by a tehsildar, who could not be treated as the appropriate authority under the legislation.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar