Politics · India Bureau
Supreme Court bars police from investigating sex-determination act violations
India's Supreme Court has ruled that police cannot investigate offences under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, directing that only designated authorities handle such cases. The court said the law's technical and medical nature requires specialist investigators rather than regular law enforcement.
LSN India ·
The Supreme Court on Thursday clarified the investigative jurisdiction under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, holding that police lack the mandate to probe violations of the legislation designed to curb sex-selective abortions.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh stated that only authorities specifically designated under the PCPNDT Act possess the authority to initiate action in such cases. The court emphasised that the law addresses matters requiring specialist knowledge and sensitivity that fall outside the traditional purview of police investigations.
"Police are not meant to be the investigators for the purposes of this Act," the bench observed, while acknowledging that law enforcement may play a supplementary role as permitted under the statute's provisions.
The ruling clarified that the restriction applies exclusively to offences under the PCPNDT Act and does not diminish police powers to investigate and prosecute other criminal offences arising from related conduct under substantive criminal law. This distinction ensures that while designated authorities handle sex-determination violations, police may still pursue charges related to independent criminal offences disclosed during investigations.