The Supreme Court Tuesday ordered for completion within three months all trials of cases lodged in Uttar Pradesh for offences of pre-natal sex determination and female foeticide. The court ordered wrapping up of trials in nearly 140 cases registered under the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act within three months, starting January 20. It clarified that the cases would include only those where either the Allahabad High Court or the apex court have not stayed the trial. The court asked the Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court to issue a circular to trial courts in UP about the pending cases and its direction on completion of trials. The state has been directed to issue a circular requiring the competent authorities to register the girl or boy child at the time of birth so that it could effectively show the progress made in the child sex ratio. The direction came after senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for one of the PIL petitioners, told the court that UP registered only 6.8 per cent of the total number of births of girls and boys. The court ordered that officials concerned with the prosecution of offenders under the PNDT Act will be imparted adequate training at the state’s judicial academy in Lucknow, saying “lack of training has made them lethargic”. On January 20, the court will take up the issue of female foeticide and declining child sex ratio in Haryana.
