New Delhi, February 23: The Supreme Court, on Monday, emphasized that discrimination against women, particularly against the girl child, remains rampant in various parts of India. It further stated that female foeticide serves as a stark and disturbing manifestation of this societal issue.

A bench consisting of Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjal Bhuyan denied a plea to quash a case against a radiologist from Gurugram, who is facing charges under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994. The court clarified that the trial against the accused could not be dismissed at this stage.

“Discrimination against the girl child, and by extension women, is still prevalent across many regions of the country. The crude and ugly manifestation of such a social ill is in the form of female foeticide. The very first step towards committing this offence is the sex determination of the foetus,” the bench remarked.