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Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI) v. Union of India

Writ Petition (Civil) · 2019 INSC 620Decided 3 May 2019
Writ Petition (Civil) No. 129 of 2017
Justice Arun Mishra · Justice Vineet Saran

Background

FOGSI, the national body of obstetricians and gynaecologists, challenged provisions of the PCPNDT Act (a law enacted to curb female foeticide by regulating pre-natal sex-determination tests). Its core complaint was that the Act treats minor paperwork/record-keeping lapses in the mandatory Form-F (e.g., an incomplete address, missing date, or a clerical slip) on the same footing as the serious offence of actually conducting illegal sex-determination, exposing doctors to criminal prosecution and machine-sealing for innocent clerical errors. It also challenged Section 23(2), which allows suspension of a doctor's medical registration merely upon being reported for alleged violation, even before conviction, arguing this violated the presumption of innocence and Article 21.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court rejected the challenge and upheld the law as constitutionally valid. It held that complete and accurate record-keeping in Form-F is not a mere formality but the primary safeguard against covert sex-determination, since ultrasound and prenatal tests can easily be misused for foeticide, incomplete records are rightly treated as presumptive evidence of violation (with the burden then on the doctor to prove otherwise), not as "equal punishment for a clerical error." On the suspension-of-registration argument, the Court held that administrative suspension pending trial is a protective/regulatory step, not a criminal conviction, and does not amount to "double jeopardy" or presuming guilt. Given the serious and continuing problem of skewed child sex ratios, the Court found diluting the Act's safeguards would undermine the right to life of the girl child under Article 21, and dismissed the writ petition, holding full compliance with Form-F to be mandatory.

Lesson Learnt

Courts will uphold strict record-keeping and reporting obligations in laws designed to protect vulnerable groups (here, unborn girls) even where professionals argue the rules are harsh for innocent paperwork errors: when a documentation requirement is the main practical safeguard against a serious social harm, the burden shifts to the professional to prove innocence rather than being presumed.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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