11-07-2025
PCPNDT case: Hospital officials get clean chit
Ahmedabad: The
Gujarat high court
quashed criminal proceedings against a homeopath and six trustees of a hospital in Bhavnagar district who faced charges under the Pre-conception and
Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994.
After an inspection by health department officials at
Samarpan Hospital
in Talaja town, criminal proceedings under Sections 3 and 26 of the
PCPNDT Act
were instituted before a JMFC court against a homeopath,
Bhupat Chopda
, and trustees of the hospital for allegedly carrying out tests for sex determination of a fetus.
All seven accused persons approached the HC, and their advocate, Aditya Choksi, contended that there was no evidence of sex determination or any pre-natal diagnostic procedure during the inspection. Chopda, a BHMS practitioner, was found using a Doppler device.
The sonography machine was operational in an adjacent room, but no diagnostic activity was established. They also argued that the trustees were named accused without including the Samarpan Seva Trust itself, violating established legal precedent.
It was also contended that the homeopath utilised a Doppler device to monitor the fetal heartbeat, a practice which per se does not fall within the ambit of "pre-natal diagnostic procedures" as statutorily defined.
After hearing the arguments, Justice J C Doshi stated, "The initiation and continuation of prosecution against Dr Bhupat D Chopda is not legally sustainable and is liable to be quashed."
The HC also quashed the case against the trustees because the hospital was not made an accused in this case.
