Human trafficking rising due to female foeticide: Court

A court here has urged exercising of zero tolerance in female foeticide cases, observing that the illegal sex determination tests are giving rise to human trafficking.

Citing the figures of sex ratio in India and statistics that said that nearly 10 million female foetuses have been aborted in the country over the past two decades, Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau said that "courts have to exercise a zero tolerance for those prima facie involved in the crime of female foeticide".

"Of the 12 million girls born in India, one million do not see their first birthdays. As a result of this human trafficking has become common in various states of India where teenage girls are being sold for cheap money by poor families, being treated as sex objects with more than half of such cases going unreported," she said in an order Wednesday but only made available Thursday.

The court order came on a revision plea filed by two doctors, Sunil Fakey and Urvashi Fakey seeking discharge in a case filed against them for carrying out illegal sex determination test.

Police has lodged an FIR against them under the provisions of Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulations and Prevention of Misuse) Act, commonly known as PNDT Act, and Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act in Ashok Vihar in west Delhi October 2010.

While dismissing the plea of doctors, the court said: "This is a harsh social and national reality and a court of law cannot shut its eyes to the same."

The judge cited the United Nations' World Population Fund reports which indicate that India has one of the highest sex imbalances in the world and the demographers warn that there will be a shortage of brides in the next 20 years because of the adverse juvenile sex ratio.

The court observed that advent of technology like ultrasound techniques resulted in the foetal sex determination and sex selective abortion by medical professionals.

"Is it not that when a female child is aborted after sex determination, it is the doctor whose aim is to save the lives of people, who connives in this illegal act only for earning a few extra bucks?" it asked.

It noted that there are thousands of such clinics where such illegal activities of sex determination and abortions are carried out on a daily basis and in some cases, in connivance with politicians, police and other local authorities.

The judge urged that as a part of a national policy, this court is required to come down heavily on those involved into illegal acts relating to female foeticide.