Health ministry soon to amend PCPNDT Rules to decriminalise radiologists

Mumbai, September 2016

The Union health ministry is soon planning to amend Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Rules to keep record-keeping out of the ambit of criminal provisions of the Act following nation-wide protests from radiologists.

A committee under the Union health ministry has been constituted based on a recent meeting with radiologists from across the country who have recommended separate provisions for record- keeping and actual sex selection under the Act. The ministry is planning to make changes in the rules in the coming two months’ time, according to a senior official associated with the development.

The committee is likely to lay down guidelines for a 3-tier categorisation of offences based on the severity or seriousness of the violation to make it more practical for serving the desired purpose for which it was framed.

As per official reports, sonography machines were sealed on frivolous grounds or for a simple documentation error, rues a radiologist on condition of anonymity. That was the reason radiologists from across the country decided to go on an indefinite strike from September 1, 2016 onwards. 

Government's hesitation to modify PCPNDT Act led to harassment of radiologists by the authorities for minor administrative lapses and not actual sex selection in violation of the Act. Radiologists explain that the violation of the said Act amounts to equal punishment for sex determination and clerical errors.

Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (IRIA) had in the past held meetings with the Union health minister J P Nadda and proposed to change the PCPNDT Rules with reference to record keeping to prevent harsh penalties for clerical errors.

According to official data from Maharashtra alone, around 512 total cases have been registered across the state for violation of the PCPNDT Act, of them, 402 cases are related to non-compliance of paper work or non-maintenance of records.

Maharashtra State Branch Indian Radiological and Imaging Association (MSBIRIA) had three months ago suspended its services citing wrong implementation of PCPNDT Act by the authorities leading to closure of sonography clinics and prosecution of radiologists as they say that the rules are often misinterpreted.

A Pune based radiologist had been sentenced to a year imprisonment by a JMFC court on December 2 last year. He was pulled up for violation of PCPNDT Act and also charged a fine of Rs. 36,000 for not maintaining records of sonography reports, as per the rules. Ingredientssouthasia