India may have made measurable progress in improving its gender balance, but the battle against sex-selection practices is far from won. Delivering a strong message on the continued preference for male children, the Supreme Court has stressed that the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, must be enforced with unwavering rigor.
A Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra observed that while statistical indicators have shown improvement over the past three decades, the gains remain fragile and uneven. According to the Court, easing the enforcement of the law or overlooking violations would risk undoing years of hard-fought progress.
The observations came while the Court dismissed a plea filed by a Maharashtra-based doctor seeking to quash criminal proceedings initiated under the PCPNDT Act. The case stemmed from alleged lapses in maintaining mandatory records at a sonography centre.
Examining the broader social context, the Court noted that India has undoubtedly moved forward since the legislation was enacted in the mid-1990s. Yet, the data still reflects a society grappling with deep-rooted biases against the birth of girls.
The Bench remarked that the country has not yet reached a stage where the birth of a girl child is accepted without prejudice. It emphasized that welfare-oriented laws such as the PCPNDT Act remain indispensable until genuine equality replaces long-standing assumptions about the perceived inferiority of women.
The judges pointed to findings from the National Family Health Survey-5, which recorded an overall sex ratio of 1,020 females for every 1,000 males. However, the sex ratio at birth stood significantly lower at 929 females per 1,000 males, a figure the Court viewed as evidence that discriminatory practices have not disappeared.
Historical trends also featured prominently in the judgment. Census data showed a decline in the child sex ratio from 945 girls per 1,000 boys in 1991 to 927 in 2001 and further to 919 in 2011. Although more recent figures indicate improvement, the Court described the recovery as only a partial correction rather than a sign of complete social transformation.
The Bench highlighted how states such as Haryana and Punjab, once notorious for severely skewed child sex ratios, have demonstrated improvement through sustained enforcement and awareness campaigns. At the same time, several states continue to report birth ratios below the national average, reinforcing concerns that sex-selection practices persist behind closed doors.
Government data showing an increase in the sex ratio at birth from 896 females per 1,000 males during 2015-17 to 918 during 2022-24 was acknowledged as a positive development. However, the Court underlined that the figure remains below the biologically expected level of approximately 950 or more.
The judgment also referred to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025, which recorded a decline in India’s overall gender parity ranking from 129th to 131st among 148 countries. The Court viewed this as a reminder that improvements in certain indicators should not obscure the larger challenge of achieving substantive gender equality.
Recognizing the impact of government initiatives and enforcement measures over the years, the Court credited sustained efforts by both central and state authorities for helping reverse some of the damage caused by female foeticide and gender discrimination. Yet it cautioned that legal safeguards must remain robust until social attitudes evolve to a point where the birth of a daughter is never questioned.
In essence, the Court’s message was clear: progress has been made, but the persistence of male-child preference means the mission of the PCPNDT Act remains unfinished.
