In a rare case of conviction, a doctor has been held guilty by the Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court under the provisions of the Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC- PNDT) Act.

The state Health department has filed cases against 79 doctors for violation of the Act.

The doctor has been sentenced to imprisonment till the rising of the court. Besides, he has been ordered to pay a fine of Rs 1,000.

According to the details of the case, Dr Paresh Sheth from the Shah-e-Alam area allegedly failed to submit details of the sonography tests done by him in the first five days of every month.

Assistant Public Prosecutor S D Bhavsar said, “Under the provisions of the PNDT Act, every doctor who performs sonography on patients, has to submit a report before the concerned official of the Health department in the first five days of every month.”

He added: “Dr Sheth submitted the [sonography] report of six months, from July 2004 to December 2004, collectively before the concerned health official. And that too he did after the health department issued him a notice on July 18, 2005.”

Following this, Dr P L Dave from the Health department of Ahmedabad district had lodged a complaint against him under the provisions of the PNDT Act.

Metropolitan Magistrate R D Adhvaryu convicted the doctor and awarded him the punishment of sitting in the court till the rising of the court along with a fine of Rs 1,000 in cash.