3 min readNew DelhiJun 12, 2026 04:04 AM IST
First published on: Jun 12, 2026 at 04:04 AM IST
THE SUPREME Court on Friday said “deep-seated patriarchal preferences towards a male child and the behind the curtains prevalence of sex-selection practices” continue to exist in the country despite improvement in the national child sex ratio.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and P K Mishra made the observation as it dismissed a Maharashtra doctor’s appeal challenging criminal proceedings against him under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (PCPNDT Act).
Citing various schemes started by state governments to curb female foeticide and improve the condition of women, the SC said they “are indicative of continued efforts to eradicate the systemic bias suffered by the girl child in an inherently patriarchal system. Much progress has been made, and yet, much is left to be desired. In sum, while the situation is markedly better than it was in the mid-1990s, the data does not support complacency. The statistics…show that the progress made is incomplete and uneven”.
“Consequently, the integrity and strict enforcement of welfare-oriented legislation such as the PCPNDT Act remain essential along with efforts continued and earnest, till the time there is a widespread change in mentality and what till now is perceived as the ‘inherent weakness’ of the woman is replaced by true equality, when there will dawn a realisation that efforts such as these are no longer required. This is not to say that the laws protecting women within legislation such as IPC/BNS will no longer be required but at least, there will no longer be a question on whether a girl child deserves to be born,” the court said.
Justice Karol, writing for the bench, referred to noted poet Subhadra Kumari Chauhan’s poem ‘Balika ka Parichay’, which he said “powerfully describes the beautiful joy of a mother upon the birth of her daughter”. The bench added that “to our mind the objective of the…Act…is to enable a woman to feel the same “joy”.
The judgment also quoted the famous shloka ‘Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devata’, from Manusmriti, saying “from our own scriptures, the once much cherished but now largely forgotten value is also worth reminding ourselves of”.
The court noted that “according to official Government of India data, the country’s sex ratio has shown clear signs of improvement in recent years, though the story is not entirely straightforward”.
It said, “Census data shows that the national child sex ratio declined from 945 in 1991 to 927 in 2001 and further to 919 in 2011, reflecting the severity of the imbalance that prompted stringent implementation of the PCPNDT Act. The recovery to 929 at birth signals a partial course correction, but yet, not a path of true equality and acceptability. Differences across states drive home this point. For example, Haryana and Punjab, which recorded child sex ratios below 900 in the years immediately after the turn of the century have demonstrated improvement in subsequent surveys showing the success of the regulations as enforced and the awareness measures being implemented. Nonetheless, several states still do report sex ratios at birth below the national average. This shows the continuing presence of deep-seated patriarchal preferences towards a male child and the ‘behind the curtains’ prevalence of sex selection practices”.
Citing various schemes started by state governments to curb female foeticide and improve the condition of women, the SC said they “are indicative of continued efforts to eradicate the systemic bias suffered by the girl child in an inherently patriarchal system. 
Share
