Two Mumbai doctors punished for 'sex tests'

Mumbai, Nov 2: A city court which found two doctors guilty of violating the laws which prohibit pre-natal and pre-conception sex selection diagnostic tests sentenced them to three years of imprisonment, says a news report.

42-year-old Chhaya Tated, a homeopathy practitioner and 62-year-old Dr Shubhangi Adkar who owns Shree Maternity and Nursing Home in Dadar were held guilty for four violations under the Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (prohibition of sex selection) Act of 2003, reports Times News Network.

Dismissing their plea for leniancy, Magistrate RV Jambkar of the Dadar Shindewadi court in Mumbai not only handed out the maximum punishment permitted under the act which is a three-year jail term, but also imposed the maximum possible fine of Rs 10,000.

The criminal case began when a BMC officer of G/N ward officer filed a case against an ad published by doctors offering special treatment to those who 'want a boy' in Nov 2004.

The doctors are out on bail as it has been over five years since the case began, said the report published on Monday, Nov 2.

The law preventing sex determination tests were brought in to prevent female foeticide. However, there have been doubts on the way they were implemented.

OneIndia News