317 cases so far against errant docs….Anuradha Mascarenhas
A total of 317 cases have been slapped against doctors in the state for flouting various provisions of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act. Of these, 90 have been decided and 41 doctors convicted so far. Pune has registered 40 cases against doctors and 29 are pending, Dr A Khade, assistant director of health (PC-PNDT Act) said.
In Pune rural, eight cases have been registered against doctors, of which only one has been decided, while in Pimpri-Chinchwad, of the six cases filed, only one has been decided.
In the 90 cases that have been resolved, 46 doctors were acquitted and three cases were dismissed. While 16 doctors have been fined, in 25 cases, they have been sentenced to imprisonment. However, there are cases pending in appeal. Khade admitted that 58 of the 140 cases that were filed before December 2010 and were to be decided by December 31, 2011, are still pending.
Out of the 317 cases in the court, 58 pertain to non-registration of ultrasound machines, 31 are decoy cases where doctors have been caught in sting operations conducting illegal sex determination and 219 are regarding the non-maintenance of records. There are 8,161 registered ultrasound centres in the state, of which 420 have been sealed. In Pune, 45 of the 381 registered ultrasound centres have been sealed.
Dr V M Khanande, additional director of health (Family Welfare Bureau), said efforts to provide monetary incentives have helped. In 2011-12, Rs 2.5 lakh was given as cash prizes to 10 informers, he said.