Book those involved in female foeticide for murder, says state

The state government on Tuesday said it would request the Centre to make provision in the existing law so that a couple and their family members involved in sex-selective abortions can be charged with murder under a relevant section of the Indian Penal Code such as section 302.

The state government on Tuesday said it would request the Centre to make provision in the existing law so that a couple and their family members involved in sex-selective abortions can be charged with murder under a relevant section of the Indian Penal Code such as section 302.

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The sentence for murder (section 302) can be life imprisonment or death penalty.

Public health minister Suresh Shetty made this statement in the Legislative Assembly in response to a calling attention notice. Several Opposition and ruling party members raised questions about the rise in female foeticide cases in Maharashtra.

Currently, there is no provision to book a woman who undergoes the sex-selective abortion as the argument is that she is forced into it. Shetty said the state would make the recommendation when NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad suggested that a harsh punishment also be awarded to the woman who aborts a female foetus.

The Centre can amend the existing Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, which is followed by all states. All offences under the Act are cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. Anyone who violates it can be sentenced to three years' imprisonment and fined Rs. 10,000. Violation of rules by doctors will also result in the cancellation of their membership to the Maharashtra Medical Council.

The state has been cracking down on illegal and legal sonography centres that can determine the sex of the foetus, as well as nursing homes that terminate such pregnancies. Recently, it arrested a doctor couple in Parli, Beed district. Several other doctors working with the couple were also arrested.

Under the current legal provision, registered clinics/ultrasound labs must maintain a register with the names and addresses of women - who get genetic counselling, are subjected to pre-natal diagnostic procedures or tests - and the names of their husbands or fathers and the date on which the first procedure was conducted. They are also required to display a notice that the disclosure of the sex of the foetus is prohibited under law.

'State's suggestion legally impractical'

Mumbai: The state government's decision to recommend that those found guilty of sex-selective abortions be charged for murder has met with opposition.

The legal fraternity has questioned the move as it conflicts with national policy and laws that are already in place. Sudeep Pasbola, a senior criminal advocate said that it is legally impossible to punish the guilty with murder. "In case the government intends to implement this change, they need to amend many laws. They have to first declare the foetus as a person," he said.

Others said those accused of foeticide are rarely convicted anyway. "Most of the accused in these cases are acquitted owing to lack of evidence, as there are rarely any eyewitnesses. The law will be of no consequence," said IP Bagaria, a senior criminal lawyer.

Varsha Deshpande, lawyer and founder of Lek Ladki Abhiyaan, an non-governmental organisation, said "Abortion is a woman's right and cannot be labelled as murder. Instead of coming up with technically and legally impractical suggestions, authorities need to increase the sentence from the existing three years to seven years."

Activists fear that the move will also increase the number of illegal abortions. "Abortions will go underground. We cannot ignore the fact that women need abortions. Such draconian measures will further aggravate the problem," said Leni Chaudhuri from Jan Swasthya Abhiyan.

According to Dr Nozer Sheriar, secretary general, Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India, there is no legal consensus on the rights of a foetus. "The PCPNDT Act needs to be implemented effectively. It already has the provision to book relatives of a woman forced to undergo a sex selective abortion," said Sheriar.