FEMALE INFANTICIDE :SOLUTIONS

FEMALE INFANTICIDE :-SOLUTIONS

The incidence of sex selective abortions is the worst form of gender based discrimination against women. The causes for elimination of girl child indicate that the reasons are similar and different depending upon the geographical location in which female infanticide is practiced.

·        An exorbitant dowry demand is one of the main reasons for female infanticide and foeticide.

·        Some of the other reasons are the belief that it is only the son who can perform the last rites, lineage and inheritance runs through the male line, sons will look after parents in old age, men are bread winners etc.

Strong male preference and consequent elimination of female has continued to increase rather than decline with the spread of education.

The recent technological developments in medical practice combined with a vigorous pursuit of growth of the private health sectors have led to the mushrooming of a variety of sex-selective services. The increase in female foeticide has been seen proportionate decrease in female sex ratio which has hit an all time low especially in the 0-6 age group and if the decline is not checked the very delicate equilibrium of nature can be permanently destroyed.

In order to stop this evil practice, the legislature has enacted certain laws which are the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 and the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection Act) 1994.

The Indian Penal Code is the first law which contained provisions under sections 312 to 316 for prohibiting miscarriage. These sections penalise violent or forced abortions. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 liberalised law and allowed termination of pregnancy on medical grounds, humanitarian grounds and eugenic grounds. The real efforts on behalf of legislature to curb the evil practice of female foeticide started with the passing of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994. The Act was amended in 2002 and renamed as the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994. In order to prevent female foeticide, the PC & PNDT Act, 1994 provide provisions under which Supervisory Board, appropriate authorities and advisory committees are to be constituted by the Central Government as well as by the State Government.

The extent and effect of enforcement of laws can be seen from the fact that the first women who lodged a complaint five  years ago, against her in-laws for  pre-natal sex determination still awaits for Justice. Despite all the hue and cry about missing daughters, till the end of January 2006, just 308 persons had been prosecuted, but not a single person had been convicted under the PNDT Act.

Inspite of all the laws in place, the sex ratio is declining at a very high speed.  Confronted with this situation, it is high time to take preventive measures against female foeticide. We have to stop looking for quick fixes and instead face the problem squarely. Female foeticide cannot be addressed in isolation, so a holistic approach is necessary to stop female foeticide.

Following are some suggestions to combat the evil of female foeticide:

(1)       The related social malaises such as dowry, poverty, women’s unemployment and exploitation, lack of proper education to girl child and their dropouts early marriage etc. are to be dealt with sternly by enacting proper laws and implementing them in true spirit.

(2)       Affirmative action on part of the government and the corporate sector by providing security for parents and granting financial aid to the girl child can help in changing the mindset of the society of treating the girl as a burden.

Corporate initiatives, such as “Beti Ek Anmol Ratan” scheme in which the donations are invested in mutual funds, Kisan Vikas Patras & National Savings Certificates in the name of new born girls and on maturity (Age of 21 years) to be utilised for higher education or marriage; has found favour with the parents and the scheme is yielding positive results.

Government schemes like “LADLI” have created gender revolution in national capital, and impacted sex ratio in favour of the girl child. Banks need to be encouraged to give loans for female child’s higher education at lower rates of interest. Old age pension should be given to parents with no   sons and having only daughters.

(3)       Awareness programmes should be launched to make the woman aware about their rights and about the ill effects of abortions. Women should know their rights regarding adoption, maintenance, marriage, property, employment, education etc.

(4)       In order to make the females independent, women should be imparted skill and training through various vocational programmes. Free and compulsory education should be provided to female children so that they can support themselves during exigency. Also it would remove the attitude that investing in girls is unnecessary.

(5)       As dowry is considered to be an important cause of female foeticide, the Dowry Prohibition Act should be made more stringent by proper amendments            and should be implemented strictly.

(6)       Medical termination of pregnancy should only be permitted after approval of PNDT authority/committee/gazetted female officer/Mahila Panchayat members/NGOs on proof of the existence of medical condition necessitating such termination.

(7)       The foetus should enjoy the right to life and should enjoy distinct legal rights        which should be recognized from the conception, because failure to recognize the right to life on the foetus will amount to discrimination violating Article 14    of the Constitution of India. Regarding the Unborn Child’s rights in the realm  of torts, the Congenital Disabilities (Liability) Act, 1976, was passed by the British Parliament providing for action that may lie against a person or             authority whose breach of duty to a parent results in a child being born disabled, abnormal and unhealthy. Similarly the Nuclear Installation Act of 1965 (U.K.), recognizes liability for compensation in respect of injury or damage caused to an unborn child by occurrences involving nuclear matter or emission of ionizing radiation. The Indian Parliament should enact laws on similar lines so as to ensure healthy growth and safe birth of an unborn child[1].

(8)       Village level committees should be set up to watch the pregnant women besides setting up the Appropriate Authorities and Advisory committees at the District and Sub-District levels.

(9)       There is need for social awareness that girls can grow up to be as good as boys. They can be good citizens, good earners, good providers for their family and for their parents. That woman need not be sold for dowry or burnt for it, that her education can make her self-sufficient and economically blessed as a man. A clear and strong social preference for the girl child is required to be created which can be done by generating awareness.

(10)     In society, the members of the medical community enjoy a powerful position. Medical professionals should counsel their patients and their families on the importance of the girl child and impact of the skewed sex ratio on the society.

The Indian Medical Association, a professional body of practicing doctors, should come forward and implement a ‘No Sex Determination Code’ for Doctors. The Doctors need to be reminded of their sacred duty of protecting human life in any form rather than becoming a party in destruction of  human foetus in the womb. Licence to practice medicine of those doctors, who are found guilty under the PNDT Act, 1994 or MTP Act, 1971 should be cancelled and they should be debarred from practicing medicine for life. Step taken by the Indian Medical Association constituting a special cadre of 50 doctors to self police and make doctors understand their moral and legal responsibility to ensure a healthy sex ratio, is a step in the right direction.

(11)     Although section 27 of the PNDT Act, 1994 makes the offences cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, the Police cannot take action in view of section 28 of the Act. This difficulty in initiation of criminal proceedings against offender should be removed.

(12)     The members of Appropriate Authority are mainly doctors and they are reluctant to launch criminal proceedings against fellow doctors. Therefore, the enforcement agency should be a different body of professionals consisting of     police, social workers and doctors.

(13)     Effective implementation of the PNDT Act needs to be assured through, ensuring registration, curbing the spread of mobile ultrasound, regulating sale of new machines, ensuring compliance of the Act like keeping records and submitting them to the Authorities in time, preferably online like the birth records are being done now; monitoring the functioning of these ultrasound clinics, complete audit of all pregnancy ultra sounds across the country (audit all F forms submitted).

(14)     Laws prohibiting sex selective abortions should be strictly implemented and the violators should be punished.

(15)     As most of the decisions are made by men in the families, they need to be sensitized about the practice of female foeticide and consequences thereof. The education curriculum should be made gender sensitive, leading to gradual formation of a changed value system in coming generation.

(16)     A social audit of all documents received from sonography clinics and making the data regarding sale of ultrasound machines, which are used for illegal sex determination tests, should be made available online. Information received will help governmental and non-governmental organisation in estimating the targets for proper implementation of the Acts and for suggesting remedial measures to combat the problem. By involving all the stakeholders, a comprehensive social audit can be conducted to launch a crusade against female foeticide.

(17)     Determining the sex of the foetus as female and killing her subsequently amounts to murder. So the punishment should be life imprisonment or death sentence as in the case of intentional causing of death under section 300 of IPC.

(18)     A major hurdle in the endeavour to prohibit sex-determination and regulation of PNDT techniques is that there is no proper duty laid upon any of the authorities in the Act. Therefore, penalty must be imposed for non-performance of duties or acts of commission or omission by the Authorities.

(19)     All abortions must be registered. In cases where a healthy female foetus is aborted, both the doctor and the family should be brought to book.

Unless social action is supplemented with prompt implementation of regulations under the law meant to stop female foeticides, such practices will continue to flourish and sex selective abortions will make women endangered species. Time has arrived to declare a crusade against female foeticide both on individual and collective level to stop elimination of daughters only because of their sex.

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[1]     Supinder Kaur, Female Foeticide – A, Frightful Reality, 1^st Edn., Central Law Publications, Allahabad, U.P., 2009.

Female Foeticide

Introduction

Eligible Jat boys from Haryana travel 3,000 km across the country to find themselves a bride. With increasingly fewer girls in Haryana, they are seeking brides from as far away as Kerala as the only way to change their single status.
          The girls have not vanished overnight. Decades of sex determination tests and female foeticide that has acquired genocide proportions are finally catching up with states in India.

This is only the tip of the demographic and social problems confronting India in the coming years. Skewed sex ratios have moved beyond the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. With news of increasing number of female foetuses being aborted from Orissa to Bangalore there is ample evidence to suggest that the next census will reveal a further fall in child sex ratios throughout the country.[1]

Female foeticide is the act of aborting a fetus because it is female. This is a major social problem in India and has cultural connections with the dowry system that is ingrained in Indian culture, despise the fact that it has been prohibited by law since 1961. See Dowry law in India. In India a strong preference for sons over daughters exists, unlike in Western cultures. People realise smaller family sizes with relatively greater number of sons by abuse of medical technologies. Pregnancies are planned by resorting to 'differential contraception' — contraception is used based on the number of surviving sons irrespective of family size. Following conception, foetal sex is determined by prenatal diagnostic techniques after which female foetuses are aborted. Foetal sex determination and sex-selective abortion by medical professionals has grown into a Rs. 1,000 crore industry  Social discrimination against women and a preference for sons have been promoted. Since 1991, 80% of districts in India have recorded an increasingly masculine sex ratio with the state of Punjab having the most masculine sex ratio. According to the decennial Indian census, the sex ratio in the 0-6 age group in India went from 104.0 males per 100 females in 1981, to 105.8 in 1991, to 107.8 in 2001, to 109.4 in 2011. The ratio is significantly higher in certain states such as Punjab and Haryana (126.1 and 122.0, as of 2001).[2]

Punjab has a long history of doing away with newborn girls. The preferred method today is foeticide after a sex determination test, but centuries ago the practice was to bury them. This tradition perhaps goes back to the days of repeated invasions by Muslim armies from the northwest, who used to carry off girls as booty for their own pleasure or to be sold in the slave markets of the Middle East. Today, it is the extortionate dowries that parents of girls have to provide upon marriage. The custom of polyandry in Punjab probably arose out of the shortage of girls - the eldest son of a family would take a wife, his younger brothers would also have access to her.

One of Guru Nanak's oft quoted hymns condemns the denigration of women: 'We are born of women and nurtured by them, we fall in love with them and they bear us sons and daughters. How can you belittle women who give birth to kings?' His words had little impact - the killing of newborn girls continued as before, though practised more among the land-owning zamindars than by the common folk.

At the end of the first Sikh war, when the British annexed half of the Sikh kingdom, the Sikh zamindars of the region met John Lawrence, who had been appointed commissioner, to confirm their land holdings. He insisted on their signing pledges that they would not bury lepers alive, refrain from burning widows and stop burying newborn girls. The zamindars protested, saying Lawrence had promised that the two sides would not interfere with each others' religious customs. Lawrence agreed that he had indeed done so, adding that British religious custom was to hang anyone who followed these practices. That put an end to sati and the murder of lepers, and though female infanticide was checked it probably continued surreptitiously.

After Independence, and the passing of the Hindu Code Bill giving equal rights to inherit ancestral property to sons and daughters, things again took a turn for the worse with the murder of newborn girls gaining momentum, especially in propertied families. With medical science able to detect the sex of the child in the womb, the practice has become much more widespread, resulting in a situation today where the ratio of females to males in Punjab is the lowest in the country.[3]

The practice of female foeticide is more prevalent among relatively rich and educated families. This flies in the face of ideas about backward women being enslaved to old customs. But it is consistent with ‘modern’ women being more receptive to new technologies and wanting fewer children. These factors appear to override lower self-reported ‘son preference’ among women of higher socio-economic status.

After taking into account differences in wealth and education among the religions, we find that Hindu women, especially high caste women, are more likely to conduct sex selection. There is no discernible evidence of sex selection among Muslim women. A likely explanation is that, even if they have a similar preference for sons, Islam is more averse to abortion. This reconciles with evidence that the sex ratio is more balanced in Pakistan and Bangladesh than it is in India. A recent study of Canada also observes that there is female foeticide amongst Indian and Chinese immigrants but not amongst Muslim immigrants (Almond, Edlund and Milligan 2009).

Women in India have made some progress and occupy key positions including the President, the Chairperson of the largest political party, the Chief Executive Officer’s of the big Companies.  In spite of these achievements, the fact is that ordinary women’s condition is beset with difficulties.

Women who constitute half of the population have been discriminated, harassed and exploited irrespective of the religion, class or creed they belong to. In  Indian society women have been worshipped in various forms such as Maa Durga [symbol of Shakti], Goddess Saraswati [symbol of Vidya], Maha Lakshmi [symbol of wealth] on one hand and denied the most basic fundamental right, i.e., right to life, by killing the female foetus inside the womb.

The social, cultural and religious fibre of India is predominantly patriarchal contributing extensively to the secondary status of women.  The patrilineal social structure based on the foundation that the family runs through a male and makes male a precious commodity that needs to be protected and given special status.  Another important pillar of the patriarchal structure is marriage wherein women are given subordinate status having no say in the running of their life or any control over their body or bodily integrity.  Marriage is also considered as a process whereby the burden of the father is passed on to the husband for a very high price.  All of this has contributed to a low status for women in the society to such an extent that even the birth of girl child in a family is sought to be avoided.

Female foeticide is one extreme manifestation of violence against women.  It is a practice that involves the detection of the sex of the unborn baby in the womb of the mother and the decision to abort if the sex of child is detected as girl.  Compared to infanticide, foeticide is probably a more acceptable means of disposing off the unwanted girl child.

The practice of eliminating female fetuses is believed to be the main reason for the adverse child sex ratio.  Pre birth elimination of females seems to be more prevalent in urban areas than in rural areas, but the gap is rapidly decreasing because of easy availability of sex determination tests in rural areas.[4]  For instance in South West Delhi, where some of the richest and most educated Indians reside, has a child sex ratio of only 845 in 2001 as against 904 in 1991.[5]

In June, a doctor was arrested for conducting 260 female foeticides after police recovered bones and skulls from a septic tank in a maternity clinic in New Delhi.  One month later, on 23^rd July, 2007, the Orissa Police recovered 30 polythene bags stuffed with female fetuses and body parts of new born babies from a dry well near a private clinic in Nayaghar close to Bhubaneshwar.[6] Reasons for such inhuman acts may be many but the main cause seems to be the social belief that the boy is a protector and care giver and the girl is a liability and a burden.  The traditional patriarchal society has embedded a bias in the Indian psyche in favour of male child and it has become an obsession.

Sex selective abortion is a fairly recent phenomena but its root can be traced back to the age old practice of female infanticide.  In the late eighteenth century, infanticide was initially documented by British officials who recorded it in their diaries during their travels.  Even though there existed penal provisions in the Indian Penal Code from Sections 312 to 316 pertaining to forced miscarriage, the abnormal sex ratio of 940 women to 1000 men prompted British to pass the Infanticide Act in 1870.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 legalised abortions and permitted abortion on following grounds:

i]         Therapeutics: Where continuation of pregnancy might endanger the mother’s life or cause grave injury to her physical or mental health.

ii]        Eugenic: The basis of eugenic abortion is that there is justification for abortion when it is known before birth that the child will be born mentally or physically deformed.

iii]       Pregnancy caused by rape: The problem of a pregnancy caused by rape may affect mental health of mother.

iv]       Failure of contraceptive devices: This condition virtually allows abortion at request. The  ban on the Government hospitals and clinics at the Centre and in the States, making use of prenatal sex determination for purpose of abortion a penal offence led to commercialization of technology and private clinics providing sex determination tests through aminiocentesis multiplied rapidly and widely. The portable ultra sound machine has further facilitated doctors to go from house to house.

The gross misuse of technological advancement aggravated the problem of female foeticide and ultra sound machines that were earlier used for other medical purposes were being used to determine the sex of the child.  To arrest this evil, the Forum against Sex Determination and Sex Pre Selection [FASDSP], a broad forum of feminist and human rights groups, was formed in 1984 and it lobbied for legislation to ban the practice. In 1988, the state of Maharashtra, passed the Maharashtra Regulation of use of Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1988, banning prenatal diagnostic practices.

On September 20, 1994, the Parliament of India, enacted the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, which came into force from January, 1996. Later, the Act was amended with effect from February 14, 2003 and was renamed the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994.  This was a response to the directions given by the Apex Court in Cehat & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors..[7] After the enactment of the Act in 1994, first conviction was in the year 2006, where a doctor and a Lab technician were sentenced to two year of imprisonment under the Act.[8]  Although sex determination services are no longer easily openly available but their clandestine availability and utilization continues all over the country.

The consequences of eliminating at least 10 lakh girls before birth every decade, for our society, particularly surviving women are indeed catastrophic.  Violence against women will reach unprecedented levels in the coming years.  Imbalance in sex ratio will increase immorality and heighten prostitution.  Men could become criminals and indulge in socially disruptive behaviour that could destroy the fabric of Nation and result in increase in anti national activities.

1.2. OBJECTIVES

Female foeticide is now more widespread in the country than ever before. The practice which was restricted to few states a few years ago has now spread all over the country. Accessibility to sex determination and safe medical termination of pregnancies have aggravated the problem. Also the combination of patriarchy and feudalism embedded in the fabric of our society have made matters worse. Dowry system and poverty also play a crucial role in the community’s preference for a male child. Today the declining sex ratio should not be looked upon as something natural or as a sudden change. It is a problem of growing magnitude and needs to be understood in all its social and cultural implications. An attempt is being made through this study to discuss some of the important issues related to this barbarism.

The study makes an attempt:

·        To analyze and evaluate the legal provisions regarding sex selective abortions.

·        To analyze the causes for growth of female foeticide in India.

·        To analyze the judicial response towards the problem.

·        To study the effectiveness of the various laws in curbing female foeticide.

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[1] www.unicef.org/india/media_3285.html accessed on 26/03/2013

[2] www.en.wikipeadia.org/wiki/female_foeticide_in_india accessed on 26/03/2013

[3] www.sikhphilosophy.net

[4]     A Socio Cultural Study of Declining Sex Ratio in Delhi & Haryana-Report 2008, published by National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child development, p.3

[5]     Lalit Dadwal & Kusum Chauhan, “Female  Foeticide – A Synoptic View of Socio-legal Aspects”, 35(1&2), Indian Socio-legal Journal, 2009, p.25.

[6]     ‘No end of Female foeticide in India’, http://www.dancewithshadows.com/society/female-foeticide.asp.

[7]     AIR 2001 SC 2007.

[8]     ‘Female Foeticide : Need to change the Mindset of people’, .

EFFECTIVENESS OF LAWS PROHIBITING SEX SELECTIVE ABORTIONS IN CURBING

EFFECTIVENESS  OF  LAWS  PROHIBITING  SEX SELECTIVE  ABORTIONS  IN  CURBING
FEMALE  FOETICIDE  IN  INDIA

 

 

 

 

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the award of degree of

 

 

 

 

SUPERVISED BY                                   SUBMITTED BY

DR. C.R. Jilova                                                 Manjit

Assistant Professor                                           

Department of Law                                            Ref.No.

Kurukshetra University

Kurukshetra

 

 

 

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

KURUKSHETRA UNIVERSITY, KURUKSHETRA

2012-2013

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

       KURUKSHETRA UNIVERSITY, KURUKSHETRA

 

 

Dr. C.R. Jilova                                           Department of law

Assistant Professor                                     Kurukshetra University

                                                                      Kurukshetra

 

 

 

 

 

SUPERVISOR’S CERTIFICATE

 

Certified that Manjit bearning Ref. No.  in the session 2012-2013 has completed his dissertation entitled “Effectivess of Laws  Prohibiting Sex Selective Abortions in Curbing Female Foeticide in India” under my supervision and guidance. The work is fit for submission and evaluation I wish her all sucess in her life.

 

 

 

 

Dated............                                                       Dr. C.R. Jilova

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Declaration

 

 

I, MANJIT, do hereby declare that the present dissertation entitled “Effectiveness of Laws Prohibiting Sex  Selective Abortions in Curbing Female Foeticide in India” has  been prepared by me on the basis of original research and has not been submitted or published in part or full to any other institution or university for any other purpose.

 

 

 

 

Dated..............                                                        (Manjit) 

                                                                                                      

Kurukeshtra University

Kurukeshtra (Harayana)

 

 

Preface

 

The last couple of decades have seen the girl child vanishing at such rapid rate that we are witnessing the phenomenon of the ‘missing girls’. The result of Census of 2001 and 2011(provisionl) which highlighted this disturbing trend, made the focus on the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) most important and urgent. The usual explanations of ‘cultural biases’ have been found to be both simplistic as well as inadequate.

Advancement in medical technology has resulted in development of techniques of sex determination and sex selection which have further deepened the crisis by providing access to methods for selective abortions of female foetuses. Female foeticide has now replaced female infanticide and has become an instrument of causing death of the unborn girls.

Keeping all this in view, the present dissertation makes an endeavour to analyse the causes for growth of female foeticide in India, to analyse and evaluate the legal provisions regarding sex selective abortions, to study the effectiveness of such laws in curbing the practice of female foeticide and to analyse the judicial response towards the problem.

I have attempted to summarise neatly, to provide clear detailed and indepth analysis of the various reports and data to expose and demonstrate that the phenomenon of selective abortions of female fetuses is widespread. It is all pervasive and does not know the class, creed, religion, urban or rural divides. The analysis of the statistics also reveals that the wide spread phenomenon has not been curbed by the existing legislations and the judicial response remains a mixed bag.

The whole dissertation is divided into seven chapters covering various aspects of female foeticide from causes, legal provisions, judicial dimensions to effectiveness of laws, consequences and suggestions for curbing the menace of female foeticide. The recent case laws and developments have also been discussed.

I am amply rewarded by the rich experience and knowledge gathered during the research. Any mistake committed in this dissertation is deeply regretted.

MANJIT

acknowledgement

 

In bringing this work, the debt of gratitude that I owe are heavy and numerous. I wish to express my gratitude to one and all who helped me in one way or other in the completion of this work. Some of them however deserve special mention.

First and foremost, I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of gratitude to my learned supervisor Dr. C.R, Jilova. I am deeply indebted to him for his superlative guidance, consultative criticism, infallible approach, inspirational words and valuable suggestions, which enabled me to carry out this work with high moral. He not only provided me his ablest experience and scholarly guidance but also allowed me a freehand in the treatment of the subject. I shall remain ever grateful for him.

I will ever remember that I am a product of a class,. batch 2012-2013, where existed equitable intellect that inspired me to constantly improve myself as a student of Law.

 

 

mANJIT

ABBREVIATIONS

 

 

AIR	-	All India Reporter
All ER	-	All England  Reporter
Cri LJ	-	Criminal Law Journal
(ed.)	-	Editor
Edn.	-	Edition
Et.al.	-	And  Others
FB	-	Full Bench
Ibid.	-	At the same place
ILR	-	Indian Law Reporter
Infra	-	Below
IPC	-	Indian Penal Code,1860
MTP Act	-	Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act,1971
P.	-	Page
PC & PNDT Act	-	Pre-Conception and Pre- Natal Diagnostic Tests Act,1994
SC	-	Supreme Court
SCC	-	Supreme Court Cases
SCR	-	Supreme Court Reporter
Sec.	-	Section
Supra	-	Above
US	-	United States of America
Vol.	-	Volume
WR (Cri)	-	Weekly Reports (Criminal)

 

List of cases

 

Ø  CEHAT v. Union of India, (2003) 8 SCC 398.

Ø  Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes [CEHAT] v. Union of India, AIR 2001 SC 2007.

Ø  Chetna, Legal Advisory W.C.D. Society v. Union of India, (1998) 2 SCC 158.

Ø  Criminal Writ Petition No. 945 of 2005, Vinod Soni & Anr v. Union of India, decided by Bombay High Court on 13.05.2005.

Ø  Deo v. Bolton,  41 USLW 4233 (1973).

Ø  Dr. Jacob George v. State of Kerala, (1994) 3 SCC 430.

Ø  Dr. Meenu Bhatia Prasad v. State, 2002 Cri. LJ 1674 (Del.).

Ø  Harpreet Singh v. State of H.P., 2009 Cri. LJ 3535 (Guj).

Ø  Madan Raj Bhandari v. State of Rajasthan, AIR 1970 SC 436, 438.

Ø  Maideenkutty Haji v. Kunhikaya, AIR 1987 Ker 184 (FB)

Ø  Q.E. v. Ademma, 1886 ILR Mad 369.

Ø  Queen Empress v. Aruna Bewa, (1873) 19 WR (Cri) 230.

Ø  Rex v. Bourne, (1938) 3 All ER 615, 621.

Ø  Roe v. Wade, 410 US 113 (1973).

Ø  Sharif v. State of Orissa, 4996 Cri. LJ 2826 Ori.

Ø  State of Maharashtra v. Flora Santuno Kutino & Ors, 2007 Cri. LJ 2233 (Bom).

Ø  Suchitra Srivastava v. Chandigarh Administration, (2009) 9 SCC1.

Ø  Surendra Chauhan v. State of M.P., (2000) 4 SCC 110.

Ø  Voluntary Health Association of Punjab Vs. Union of India & Others

[Writ Petition (Civil) No. 349 of 2006] 4 March 2013

 

 

contents

 

Topic Approval Performa                                                                                         (i)

Certificate by Superviser                                                                                        (ii)

Declaration                                                                                                              (iii)

Preface                                                                                                                      (iv)

Acknowledgement                                                                                                     (v)

Abbreviations                                                                                                           (vi)

List of Cases                                                                                                            (vii)

 

 

Chapter-I :    Introduction                                                                        1-10

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Objectives

 

 

Chapter-2 :   Factors Responsible for Female

                        Foetcide                                                                                  11-27

2.1 Patriarchal Society

2.1.1 Son Preference

2.1.1 Daughter as a Burden

2.2 Two Child Family Norm

2.3 Misuse of Modern Medical Technology

2.4 Poor Enforcement of Laws

2.5 Consequences

 

 

Chapter 3 :    Legal Framework                                                           28-45

3.1 Provisions under Indian Penal Code, 1860

3.2 The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971

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

3.4 The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection Act, 1994)

3.4.1 Cognizance of Offence

3.4.2 Procedure for Prosecution

 

 

Chapter 4 :    Judicial Dimensions                                                       46-72

 

Chapter 5 :    Effectiveness of Laws in Curbing the

                        menace of female foeticide                                 73-102

Ø  5.1 Sex Ratio

Ø  5.2 Under Indian Penal Code

Ø  5.3 Under Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994

 

 

Chapter 6 :    conclusion and Suggestions                              103-111

 

 

Bibliography                                                                                                    i-v

 

 

Annexures                                                                                                       i-xlvi

Ø  Annexure I : Relevant Provisions of Indian Penal Code, 1860

Ø  Annexure II : Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
alongwith Rules of 2003 and Forms

Ø  Annexure III : Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection Act, 1994) and Rules of 1996