‘Cooperate on curbing online sex determination ads

Talk to search engines: SC tells Centre

NEW DELHI, 13/07/2016: A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously quashed Arunachal Pradesh Governor J.P. Rajkhowa's decision to advance the Assembly session from January 14, 2016 to December 16, 2015, a move which triggered political unrest in the sensitive border State and culminated in the declaration of President's rule on January 26, in New Delhi. Photo: R. V. Moorthy

Noting that “many are guided by inappropriate exposure to the Internet,” the Supreme Court has held that the government has a role in controlling the virtual world and has ordered major online search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to co-operate with the Centre to make concrete suggestions against publication of online pre-natal sex determination ads rather than oppose any move to make the Internet safer.

A Bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked the Centre to brainstorm with the search engines, in the next six weeks, on ways to ensure that materials violating Indian laws prohibiting pre-natal sex determination were not hosted on websites.

The apex court, while disposing of the PIL petition filed by petitioner Sabu Mathew George, observed that the government, its nodal agency and experts “shall take steps so that mandate of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 are not violated”.

It directed the representatives of search engines shall also take part in the meeting.