1 · What the Court said

• The case in brief: A doctor running an ultrasound (sonography) centre was found with serious gaps in his mandatory Form F records — the form that logs every ultrasound to prevent illegal sex determination. He argued these were “minor technical errors.” The Court firmly disagreed: keeping these records correctly is essential, not a formality, because they are often the only proof that a clinic is not secretly revealing the sex of the foetus.
• A message wrapped in poetry: To remind society of a daughter’s worth, the bench quoted Subhadra Kumari Chauhan’s poem ‘Balika ka Parichay’, which captures a mother’s joy at her daughter’s birth — the very joy, the Court said, that the law exists to protect.
• A line from the scriptures: The bench also recalled the Manusmriti shloka “Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devata” — “where women are honoured, divinity blossoms” — calling it a once-cherished but now forgotten value.

2 · The numbers: a steep fall, a fragile recovery

Child Sex Ratio — girls per 1,000 boys, age 0–6 (Census). The natural level is about 950; bars start at 900 to make the change clear. The sex ratio at birth has since partly recovered to about 929 (NFHS-5).

• Two different measures: The Child Sex Ratio (CSR) counts girls per 1,000 boys aged 0–6 (from the Census). The Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) counts girls per 1,000 boys among newborns. Both tell the same worrying story.
• The decline that forced action: The Census CSR fell from 945 (1991) to 927 (2001) to 919 (2011) — well below the natural level of about 950. This steep slide pushed the government to enforce the PCPNDT Act seriously.
• An uneven recovery: The SRB has since improved to about 929 (NFHS-5). States like Haryana and Punjab, once among the worst (below 900), have improved through strict enforcement. But several states still record figures below the national average — proof that the bias survives.

3 · Why does this happen?

• The patriarchal preference: In many families, a son is still seen as the one who carries the family name, earns, and performs the last rites, while a daughter is wrongly viewed as a “burden.” This mindset, not biology, drives the imbalance.
• “Son meta-preference”: The Economic Survey described how some families keep having children until they get the desired number of sons. The result is millions of “unwanted” girls, who then receive less food, care and schooling.
• Amartya Sen’s “missing women”: The economist used this phrase for the huge number of women “missing” from the population — lost to sex-selective abortion, female infanticide, and neglect in health and nutrition.

4 · The shield: the PCPNDT Act and welfare schemes

• Strict registration and records: Every ultrasound clinic, genetic lab and counselling centre must register and keep detailed records — like Form F — for each scan.
• A total ban on revealing sex: No doctor may disclose the sex of the foetus by words, signs or any other means. Advertisements for sex determination are also banned.
• Tough penalties: Offences are cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, with jail terms and cancellation of the doctor’s medical licence. The Appropriate Authority under the Act enforces these rules.
• Support through schemes: Alongside the law, schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), Janani Suraksha Yojana and Ladli Lakshmi Yojana work to value, protect and educate the girl child.

5 · Way forward