Why is India still preferring a male child? Supreme Court raises serious concern

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that welfare-oriented legislation such as the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act remains crucial in combating sex-selection practices and protecting the rights of unborn girls.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Karol and Prashant Kumar Mishra said such laws would continue to be necessary until there is a fundamental change in social attitudes towards women and girls.

"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," the bench said.

Court flags persistent bias towards male children

The judges expressed concern that despite decades of awareness campaigns and welfare schemes, a deep-seated preference for male children continues to exist across parts of Indian society.

Referring to census figures, the court noted that India's child sex ratio declined from 945 girls per 1,000 boys in 1991 to 927 in 2001 and further to 919 in 2011.

The bench said the data reflected the seriousness of the gender imbalance that led to stringent implementation of the PCPNDT Act.

"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," the court observed.

Welfare schemes show challenge remains

The court pointed to various government initiatives aimed at improving the status of girls, including Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Janani Suraksha Yojana and Ladli Lakshmi Yojana.

According to the bench, the continued visibility of such campaigns demonstrates that society still has a long way to go in eliminating discrimination against girls.

"We may only observe that more than seventy-five years after we have set out to chart our own path, even today seeing posters for education and upliftment, including financial security, of a girl child is not a sight out of the ordinary," the court said.

Equality must replace notions of weakness

The bench said the ultimate goal should be a society where laws specifically designed to protect the right of a girl child to be born are no longer necessary because true equality has been achieved.

It added that the perception of women as inherently weaker must be replaced with genuine equality and dignity.

The court clarified that criminal laws protecting women would continue to remain necessary, but hoped that one day there would no longer be a debate over whether a girl child deserves to be born.

Literary and cultural references in judgment

In its judgment, the Supreme Court referred to a poem by renowned Hindi poet Subhadra Kumari Chauhan titled Balika ka Parichay, which celebrates the joy of a daughter's birth.

The bench also cited the Sanskrit phrase from Manusmriti, "Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devata", meaning "Where women are honoured, divinity blossoms."

Case before the court

The observations were made while dismissing an appeal filed by a doctor challenging an order taking cognisance of alleged offences under Section 23 of the PCPNDT Act.

The law prohibits sex selection before or after conception and seeks to prevent misuse of diagnostic techniques for determining the sex of a foetus.

The PCPNDT Act was enacted to combat female foeticide and prevent the misuse of prenatal diagnostic technologies for sex determination. Over the years, it has become one of India's key legal safeguards against gender-based discrimination before birth.

While improvements have been recorded in awareness and education, concerns over declining sex ratios and illegal sex-selection practices continue to prompt calls for stronger enforcement and social reform.
(With PTI inputs)