It’s been around six months since Aamir Khan’s show, Satyamev Jayate (SJ), went off air. However, the impact it continues to have on some of the country’s social issues still comes as a surprise.
During the show, Aamir had requested the Rajasthan government to set up fast-track courts
for cases that deserved urgent attention. In no time, one such court was set up in Kota. Now fully functional, it recently passed verdicts on two cases, and will declare two more in the coming week (on February 22 and 25).
“We have a confirmation from the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) authority of Kota regarding a defaulting doctor (in a sex determination case), who has now been convicted for two years,” says Svati Chakravarty, co-director and research head, SJ.
“This decision was taken by the fast-track court that was formed after Aamir met chief minister Ashok Gehlot in May 2012. The idea of the court is to pass verdicts within six weeks of hearing a case, and these cases had been languishing in courts across the state since 2006. This is Rajasthan’s first-ever conviction under the PCPNDT Act,” she adds.
Ask the actor about this recent development and he says, “I congratulate the Rajasthan judiciary and the Rajasthan government for such dynamic and speedy action in dealing with this urgent social problem, which is plaguing our society.”
“The action taken by the Rajasthan authorities will act as a huge deterrent to other potential offenders of this law. The rest of India needs to follow this lead. The country now waits to see what action the Rajasthan Medical Council takes against the convicted doctors,” adds Aamir.