Female foeticide: Maha to approach chief justice of Bombay HC

In a bid to bring down the pendency of cases pertaining to female foeticide, Maharashtra Government will soon approach the chief justice of Bombay High Court seeking his direction to lower courts for speedy disposal of such cases.

The issue of pending female foeticide cases came to the fore in a meeting held recently by Public Health Minister Suresh Shetty.

"The state government will request the chief justice of the Bombay high court to give directions to the lower courts to expedite the process to disposing of the cases of female foeticide pending there," a health official told PTI.

He said the Bombay High Court had directed the lower courts last year itself to dispose of such cases within six months. "Majority of the cases have reached to a logical end, but where the cases are pending the state government will approach the High Court," he added.

It was also decided in the meeting that those lawyers who have fought the female foeticide cases well and have won them should be honoured by the government. "Lawyers who have won the cases should be appointed as assistant public prosecutors," the official said.

The meeting proposed the need for larger publicity for effective implementation of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex selection) Act.

Lauding the work being done by the PCPNDT Cells in various districts, the meeting proposed that they should be strengthened for effective implementation of the programme.
"For effective implementation of the programme, counsellors and newly-appointed medical officers should also be given training," added the official.