- (1.) Heard Mr. Sanjay Parekh, learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Ranjit Kumar, learned Solicitor General for the Union of India, Mr. Harish Salve, learned senior counsel, Dr. A.M. Singhvi, learned senior counsel and Mr. Anupam Lal Das, learned counsel for the Microsoft Corporation (I) Pvt. Ltd., Google India and Yahoo ! India respectively.
(2.) In course of hearing, Mr. Sanjay Parekh, learned counsel has submitted that the respondents, namely, Microsoft Corporation (I) Pvt. Ltd., Google India and Yahoo ! India are bound to follow scrupulously what is being stated in Section 22 of the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (for brevity, 'the Act'). Section 22 of the Act reads as follows :- "22. Prohibition of advertisement relating to pre-natal determination of sex and punishment for contravention.-1. No person, organization, Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic, including clinic, laboratory or centre having ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or any other technology capable of undertaking determination of sex of foetus or sex selection shall issue, publish, distribute, communicate or cause to be issued, published, distributed or communicated any advertisement, in any form, including internet, regarding facilities of pre-natal determination of sex or sex selection before conception available at such centre, laboratory, clinic or at any other place. 2. No person or organization including Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic shall issue, publish, distribute, communicate or cause to be issued, published, distributed or communicated any advertisement in any manner regarding pre-natal determination or preconception selection of sex by any means whatsoever, scientific or otherwise. 3. Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees. Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, "advertisement" includes any notice, circular, label, wrapper or any other document including advertisement through internet or any other media in electronic or print form and also includes any visible representation made by means of any hoarding, wall-painting, signal, light, sound, smoke or gas."
(3.) Mr. Parekh has drawn our attention to certain search results. One such result is 'Medical Tourism In India'. It is pointed out by Mr. Parekh that it deals with 'gender determination' in India which is prohibited by the aforesaid provision.;