Health ministry asked to review provisions of PC-PNDT Act

The Central Supervisory Board (CSB) has asked the Health Ministry to hold consultations with the Law Ministry on the issue of reviewing certain provisions of the PC-PNDT Act, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel in a written reply said that the CSB in its meeting discussed the issue of reviewing certain provisions of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act and recommended that the Health Ministry should take appropriate steps after due consultations with the Law Ministry.
"The Central Supervisory Board after due deliberations recommended that the Health Ministry may take the advice of Law and Justice Ministry in this regard and appropriate steps may be taken accordingly," she said.

She said that in the 25th meeting of CSB held January 5 January this year, the matter of reviewing certain provisions of the Act was discussed.
The issue was deliberated in the light of a recent judgement of the Supreme Court in which it has examined the proposal for amendments in the Act specifically the classification of offences under the Act.
The court has come up with the view that whenever there is an abuse of the process of the law, the individual can always avail legal remedy and further declined to interfere, Patel said.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda and Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi had presided over the 25th CSB meeting.

A top Health Ministry official had earlier told PTI there were several instances where people were slapped with criminal offences for very minor things like not wearing an apron, not having a display board and other such things.
The Health ministry will review certain provisions in the Act so that criminal cases are not slapped on doctors for minor offences, he had said.