Police Cannot Register FIR And Conduct Investigation For PC-PNDT Act Offences

Source: Supreme Court 

Why in News? 

A Bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, in The State of Uttar Pradesh v. Brij Pal Singh (2026), held that the police cannot register an FIR and act as the primary investigating authority for offences under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 (PC & PNDT Act), and clarified that a Magistrate cannot take cognizance of such an offence on the basis of a police chargesheet. 

What was the Background of The State of Uttar Pradesh v. Brij Pal Singh (2026) Case? 

• The case arose from an Allahabad High Court judgment dated 30 September 2024, which referred three questions concerning the scope of police powers to register FIRs and investigate offences under the PC & PNDT Act to the Supreme Court. 
• The questions turned on the interplay between Section 27 (offences under the Act declared cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable) and Section 28 (bar on cognizance except on complaint by the Appropriate Authority, an authorised officer, or a person who has given 15 days' prior notice) of the Act. 
• The core issue was whether Section 27's declaration of offences as cognizable independently permits police registration and investigation of FIRs, or whether Section 28's special procedure confines initiation of proceedings to the mechanism prescribed under the Act. 
• Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta, along with Advocate-on-Record Nitin Saluja, assisted the Court as Amicus Curiae. 

What were the Court's Observations? 

• On Registration of FIR Merely Because the Offence is Cognizable: The Court held that the language of Sections 27 and 28, read together with the other provisions of the Act and keeping in mind its socially beneficial nature and the sensitivity and medical-technical expertise involved, shows that the police are not intended to be the investigators for offences under the Act. An FIR registered by the police cannot be carried to its logical conclusion under the procedure the Act prescribes. The Court clarified that this restriction applies only to offences under the PC & PNDT Act and does not bar the police from investigating and prosecuting independent offences under general criminal law. 
• On Who Can Investigate Complaints Under the Act: The Court held that Section 17(4) of the Act places responsibility for investigating complaints on the Appropriate Authority. It also relied on Rule 18A(3)(iv), which has statutory force and requires that recourse to the police be avoided as far as possible. The police, therefore, cannot be the main investigative authority under the Act and may play only a supplemental role, and that too when required by the Appropriate Authority in accordance with the Act. 
• On Cognizance Based on a Police Chargesheet: The Court held that Section 28 creates a complete statutory mechanism for taking cognizance, subject only to the situations specifically provided under that provision. Consequently, a competent Magistrate cannot take cognizance of an offence under the Act on the basis of a chargesheet filed pursuant to a police investigation. 
• On Disposal: The Court remanded the matter to the Allahabad High Court to decide the case in accordance with law. 

What is the PC & PNDT Act, 1994? 

• What it is: A Parliamentary enactment aimed at curbing female foeticide and arresting India's declining sex ratio by banning prenatal sex determination. 
• Objective: To prohibit sex selection techniques before or after conception and prevent misuse of prenatal diagnostic techniques for sex-selective abortion.

Key Provisions:  

• Regulates use of pre-natal diagnostic techniques (e.g., ultrasound), permitting them only to detect genetic abnormalities, metabolic disorders, chromosomal abnormalities, certain congenital malformations, haemoglobinopathies and sex-linked disorders. 
• Bars any laboratory, Centre, or clinic from conducting tests, including ultrasonography, to determine foetal sex. 
• Prohibits communication of the foetus's sex to the pregnant woman or her relatives by any means (words, signs, or otherwise). 
• Bans advertisements for pre-natal/pre-conception sex determination facilities in any form (print, electronic, hoarding, wall painting, signal, sound, etc.), punishable with up to 3 years' imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10,000. 

Offences Under the Act:  

• Conducting or assisting prenatal diagnostic techniques at unregistered facilities. 
• Sex selection on a man or woman. 
• Performing prenatal diagnostic techniques for purposes other than those specified in the Act. 
• Sale, distribution, supply, or renting of ultrasound machines or any equipment capable of detecting foetal sex, in contravention of the Act.