APARNA SINGHAL Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) .The petitioner has filed this petition under Sec. 482 Cr.P.C praying for quashing of FIR No.553 dtd. 13/12/2020, registered under Sec. 23 of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1994 ( for short "Act") and Sec. 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, at Police Station Palam Vihar, District Gurugram, along with all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom.

(2.) The FIR was registered on the complaint of Dr. Anil Gupta Medical Officer-cum-Nodal Officer under the Act, Office of Civil Surgeon Gurugram submitted to the Station House Officer, Police Station, Palam Vihar, Gurugram. As per the allegations in the FIR on 13/12/2020 a secret information was received by District Appropriate Authority-cum- Civil Surgeon, PC&PNDT Gurugram that a sex determination racket was beingrun by one Smt.Pinki @ Roma Devi at Dr.Rao's clinic, Kapashera Mor, New Delhi. On receipt of this information the District Appropriate Authority-cum- Civil Surgeon, PC&PNDT Gurugram constituted a team comprising Dr.Anil Gupta, PNDT Nodal Officer-cum-Medical Officer, Gurugram (complainant/respondent No.2), Amandeep Chauhan, Drugs Control Officer, Gurugram, Dr.Harish Kumar, Medical Officer, Gurugram, Dr.Dipanshu, Medical Officer, Gurugram, Subhash Sharma, Clerk in the office of Civil Surgeon, Gurugram. Police help was also taken and Parambir Singh HC and Somvati LHC joined the team. Thereafter, informer Pawan contacted Pinki @ Roma Devi on her mobile phone for getting a sex determination test on a pregnant lady. Pinki @ Roma Devi asked the informer to bring Rs.50,000.00on 13/12/2020 at 10.30 AM for sex determination of the foetus. Thereafter, Kanchan (who gave her name as Pinky w/o Pawan to the petitioner) w/o Karan was approached by the raiding team to act as a decoy patient. The informer was given Rs.50,000.00 to be handed over to Pinki @ Roma Devi for sex determination on 13/12/2020. Serial Numbers of all the currency notes were noted. On 13/12/2020, the decoy patient (Kanchan) and the informer Pawan left for Dr.Rao's clinic, Palam Vihar at 10 AM on their private vehicle bearing No.HR-55-AH-4970. They were followed by the raiding team in another car. After reaching the clinic at 10.30 AM, Hareram Mandal, husband of Pinki @ Roma Devi came outside to the decoy patient and the informer and sat in their car. The informer told the raiding team that the amount of Rs.50,000.00 was received by the husband of Pinki @ Roma Devi, who took the decoy patient and the informer to M/s Mantra care X-Ray and Diagnostic Centre, Gurugram. The decoy patient, the informer and Hareram Mandal went inside the Centre and came out after two hours. Then all three went back to Dr.Rao's clinic, where the raiding team was waiting. On reaching Dr.Rao's clinic, the informer asked Pinki @ Roma Devi about the sex of the foetus, upon which Pinki @ Roma Devi called the petitioner on her mobile phone and then disclosed the foetus as 'female' to the informer. On such disclosure, the members of the raiding team, except Dr.Anil Gupta - respondent No.2 and Amandeep Chauhan immediately apprehended Pinki @ Roma Devi and her husband Hareram Mandal at Dr.Rao's clinic and recovered Rs.34,000.00 from Hareram Mandal which were the same which had been given to the informer. After the said recovery, the raiding team informed Dr.Anil Gupta and Amandeep Chauhan, who were waiting outside M/s Mantracare X-Ray and Diagnostic Centre Gurugram. As the Centre was closed for the day, they both called husband of the petitioner Dr.Sumit Singhal on his mobile phone and requested him to conduct a kidney ultrasound of Dr.Anil Gupta. When Dr.Sumit Singhal opened the Centre and conducted the ultrasound of Dr.Anil Gupta, the raiding Team immediately reached at the Centre from Dr.Rao's clinic and apprehended the petitioner and recovered Rs.16,000.00 from her which were the same that had been given to the informer.

(3.) Mr. Sartej Singh Narula Ld. counsel for the petitioner has primarily contended that as per the provisions of the Act an FIR for an offence under the Act cannot be registered except on the complaint of the duly notified District Appropriate Authority (DAA)- which is a body comprising of three members. The constitution of the Authority is specified in Sec. 17 of the Act which is as under: