Appoint A.A. and make Regulations as per law within 3 months : Hon. Uttarakhand High Court directs the State. But the Act has not been struck down..

The Petitioner Dr. Vijay Verma filed a PIL bearing No.92/2017 and sought certain directions under PCPNDT Act for imposition of Sec.17 and 33 od the said Act.

Let's see at the outset what these sections say in nutshell.

Section 17 is the section which constitutes the Appropriate Authority (AA), having plenary powers of suspension, cancellation of the License and which can raid the clinics, cease the Machines and intitiate legal action for breach of provisopro of the Act.

There are No. Of case laws on the point of misuse of Power by AA and High Courts have struck down the actions..

Sec. 33 gives the power to the Govt to make regulations and as per Sec 34, rules and regulations should be put before both the houses of Parliment.
The Petitioner Doctor contended that he got the RTI information that no such rules and regulations have ever been out before the parliment and there was no AA appointed in Uttarakhand under Sec.17 in Official  Gazette, the rules made under the Act be declared as Ultravires.

Held :.
1.Their Lordships Hon’ble Rajiv Sharma, A.C.J. and Hon’ble Sharad Kumar Sharma, J.

Appreciated the PIL whereby questions of Public Importance were raised.

2. It was observes that According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons an enactment has been made for prohibition of the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for determination of sex of foetus, leading to female foeticide; 

prohibition of advertisement of pre-natal 

diagnostic techniques for detection or 

determination of sex etc; However, till date, the State Government has n ot constituted any appropriate authority as per Sub-section (2) of Section 17 of the Act. 

3.The State Government has also not framed Regulations as per Section 33 of the Act. 

4. It was further observed that Once the law has been made, it must be strictly enforced. 

5.Accordingly, the Writ Petition (PIL) was disposed of with the direction to the 

State Government to constitute an AA and also to make regulations by publishing in Official date, within 3 months from the sate of order. i.e. 24/08/2018.

Social media and Interpretation of the judgement :. Don't blindly rely on social media messages.
However, the Social media gave some strange version or interpretation of this order. In many messages it's been mentioned as if entire PCPNDT Act has been quashed and the Doctors literally started  jumping with the joy.. Probably because the docotrs might be feeling that the Act has become a tool of harassment
The order no where makes such remarks. Moreover it's mainly applicable in Uttrakhand State. In many other states there are duly appionted AA. Regarding the rules 3 months time has already been given.
The judgement no where holds that the entire PCPNDT Act has become illegal.

Adv. Rohit Grande
Pune.