Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 - Registration of Genetic Counselling Centres, Genetic Laboratories and Genetic Clinics

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CHAPTER VI - REGISTRATION OF GENETIC COUNSELLING CENTRES, GENETIC LABORATORIES AND GENETIC CLINICS

 Registration of Genetic Counselling Centres, Genetic Laboratories or Genetic Clinics.

(1) No person shall open any Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic after the commencement of this Act unless such Centre, Laboratory or Clinic is duly registered separately or jointly under this Act.

(2) Every application for registration under sub-section (1), shall be made to the Appropriate Authority in such form and in such manner and shall be accompanied by such fees as may be prescribed.

(3) Every Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic engaged, either partly or exclusively, in counselling or conducting pre-natal diagnostic techniques for any of the purposes mentioned in section 4, immediately before the commencement of this Act, shall apply for registration within sixty days from the date of such commencement.

(4) Subject to the provisions of section 6, every Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic engaged in counselling or conducting pre-natal diagnostic techniques shall cease to conduct any such counselling or technique on the expiry of six months from the date of commencement of this Act unless such Centre, Laboratory or Clinic has applied for registration and is so registered separately or jointly or till such application is disposed of, whichever is earlier.

(5) No Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic shall be registered under this Act unless the Appropriate Authority is satisfied that such Centre, Laboratory or Clinic is in a position to provide such facilities, maintain such equipment and standards as may be prescribed. 

Certificate of registration.-

(1) The Appropriate Authority shall, after holding an inquiry and after satisfying itself that the applicant has complied with all the requirements of this Act and the rules made thereunder and having regard to the advice of the Advisory Committee in this behalf, grant a certificate of registration in the prescribed form jointly or separately to the Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic, as the case may be.

(2) If, after the inquiry and after giving an opportunity of being heard to the applicant and having regard to the advice of the Advisory Committee, the Appropriate Authority is satisfied that the applicant has not complied with the requirements of this Act or the rules, it shall, for reasons to be recorded in writing, reject the application for registration.

(3) Every certificate of registration shall be renewed in such manner and after such period and on payment of such fees as may be prescribed.

(4) The certificate of registration shall be displayed by the registered Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic in a conspicuous place at its place of business.

 Cancellation or suspension of registration.-

(1) The Appropriate Authority may suo moto, or on complaint, issue a notice to the Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic to show cause why its registration should not be suspended or cancelled for the reasons mentioned in the notice.

(2) If, after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic and having regard to the advice of the Advisory Committee, the Appropriate Authority is satisfied that there has been a breach of the provisions of this Act or the rules, it may, without prejudice to any criminal action that it may take against such Centre, Laboratory or Clinic, suspend its registration for such period as it may think fit or cancel its registration, as the case may be.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1) and (2), if the Appropriate Authority is, of the opinion that it is necessary or expedient so to do in the public interest, it may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, suspend the registration of any Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic without issuing any such notice referred to in sub-section (1).

 Appeal. The Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic may, within thirty days from the date of receipt of the order of suspension or cancellation of registration passed by the Appropriate Authority under section 20, prefer an appeal against such order to—

      (i) the Central Government, where the appeal is against the order of the Central Appropriate Authority; and

     (ii) the State Government, where the appeal is against the order of the State Appropriate Authority, in the prescribed manner.  

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RAVINDERNANDA, India

This act is an emotional and mental trauma for the radiologists booked under this act as in most cases innocent doctors are being booked and their diagnostic centres being sealed after every raid even if some trivial irregularities are found-what is worse is that criminal FIRs are filed after every raid which is beyond comprehension-ultrasound machines are sealed and handed over to police and the machines keep rotting in Police stations and FSL centres for months together-there are no ultrasound facilities in govt hospitals as there are very less radiologists in the country and PNDT act is bent upon closing whatever small ultrasound centres are there in private sector-Govt needs to think over otherwise people will think twice before making their children Radiologists.

rsethi, India

Hi everyone . We should all be ashamed of not just the declining sex ratio but of all the atrocities that are committed on the females in our country . The injustice begins at the time of conception and is carried on at home, in offices, public places, everywhere ... If girls were not considered a burden , then people would not want to do away with them, and there would not be any need for such an act which i believe is unique to our country.
Now coming to the PCPNDT ACT, i am sure it has been made after a lot of discussion and deliberation by intellectuals and legal experts but for us doctors and sonologists , it means hours wasted in record keeping and ulcers wondering if our form filling will meet upto the expectations of the Appropriate Authority and tension headaches thinking when the next surprise inspection will be done and what shortcomings will the inspection team find in our clinics and whether our clinic will survive the inspection or wheter it will be sealed for want of a name-plate or mismatched signature or incomplete address or may be a wrong phone no.
We are all qualified professionals and we wish to abide by all the rules and regulations of this Act. It is in fact our moral duty to do all that we can to prevent this female foeticide. If whatever we are doing presently under the Act has actually helped in curtailing the declining sex ratio, then we will continue to do so with joyous heart ......
But my friends, that has not happened except in a very few places.
What the govt. needs is not an Act, but a Will....to catch the culprits and to bring them to justice.
Let the members of PNDT committees, the law enforcing officers, the various NGOs, the press people....let them discreetly ask their maids/ sweepers,other helpers....and they will find out where the prenatal sex determination is being done / who is violating the law / and where are those females going for sex selective abortion ...... Then it is upto the authorities to take action.
And please please educate the society......that is the only thing that will decrease the demand and hence dry up the supply of sex determination places.

jayshreepatil, India

you r doing good jos but doing cases on doctors who r not really doing sex determination on due to incomplete record.please think on those doctors after all there carrios get in risk.

spatils, India

yes i am agree with you but you are really doing harashment of the doctors who are not doing sex determination ,only in f-form mistakes please dont do like this this will not improve your sex ratio.remove the culprits who does sex determination

umeshshinde, India

hello..this is worst act as far as doctors are concerned.No doubt it will reduce sex determination but act has certain defects needs to be cured.the punishment of three years is imposed for defects in maintaining records under PNDT act this is not justice to doctors as doctor is person and to make a error is human being then the doctor shouldnt be punished for such small thing i.e defects in filling the forms or maintaining records.The act aims at controlling the sex determination.hence punishment of three years is ok for sex determination.secondly ,the raid shouldnt be allowed without taking confidential permission from health department and after satisfaction of necessity of raid the appropriate authority should conduct the raid.The appropriate authority must have one legal expert to advise.more to write but next time friends....from :umesh A.Shinde advocate satara mo.9822637138

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