Maharashtra reports 627 illegal sex determination cases, 127 convictions in two-year crackdown
Maharashtra has registered 627 court cases under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act from March 2024 to March 2026, of which 127 have resulted in convictions, the state's Director of Public Health Dr Vijay Khandewad said. The data highlights intensified enforcement against illegal prenatal sex determination.
As part of its action, the state conducted 118 decoy (sting) operations during 2025-26, with 13 successful, and 82 operations in 2024-25, with 11 successful, according to Dr Khandewad. The renewed crackdown comes amid concerns over Maharashtra's sex ratio at birth, which stands at 899 girls per 1,000 boys, as per the latest Sample Registration System (SRS) report.
The state's Public Health and Family Welfare department document on PCPNDT Act implementation shows that officials inspected nearly all of the 11,837 registered sonography centres. It also states that 492 manufacturers and distributors of sonography and imaging machines were registered with the State Appropriate Authority till February 2025. Since June 2012, names of 219 doctors have been referred to medical councils for disciplinary action, with registrations of 62 doctors cancelled by the Maharashtra Medical Council, 10 by the Maharashtra Council of Homoeopathy, and four by the Medical Council of India.
The child sex ratio (0-6 years) in the state has declined from 946 girls per 1,000 boys in 1991 to 913 in 2001 and 894 in 2011. Based on expected biological sex ratio, the document estimates that Maharashtra may have lost over 4.06 lakh female foetuses in the decade preceding the 2011 Census.
Despite stepped-up enforcement, Dr Khandewad said the challenge cannot be addressed through policing alone. "It is ultimately a question of mindset… The problem is that demand still exists in society. The more we investigate, the more we realise that there is demand. This is not just an issue of education; it is about how people think about gender," he said.
The department plans to expand decoy operations across all districts. "During the decoy operations, we send pregnant women to the sonography centres; more such sting operations will be conducted in every district," Dr Khandewad said, adding that operational details are kept confidential.
To encourage whistleblowers, the state offers an informer reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to successful action against illegal prenatal sex determination. Officials noted that illegal prenatal sex determination is increasingly facilitated through networks involving fake doctors and middlemen, with portable ultrasound machines allegedly used to conduct scans at women's homes before referring them for illegal abortions.
Courts have disposed of 462 of the 625 cases filed till February 2025. Of these, 127 resulted in convictions, 332 ended in acquittals or dismissals, three were withdrawn, and 163 cases remained pending. The government has also strengthened public reporting: toll-free helplines 104 and 1800-233-4475 received 1,124 complaints till February 2025, of which 1,102 were resolved.
