Supreme Court Bars Police from Registering FIR or Conducting Independent Investigation Under PC-PNDT Act
The Supreme Court has held that police lack authority to register FIRs or act as primary investigators for offences under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, affirming that such powers reside exclusively with the Appropriate Authority constituted under the Act.
The Supreme Court has ruled that police are not empowered to register First Information Reports (FIRs) or conduct independent investigations in cases arising under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (PC & PNDT Act). The judgment was delivered by a bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice N Kotiswar Singh in response to three questions referred by the Allahabad High Court in its judgment dated September 30, 2024.