The Delhi high court has allowed a private hospital to transport an ultrasound machine to the house of a 70-year-old man who is under domiciliary hospitalization. Under the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, and the rules framed by the state government in 2015, an individual is prevented from accessing a portable ultrasound machine because it can be used to determine the sex of a fetus.

On Monday, in an order dated August 6, Justice Sanjeev Narula noted that even though the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act was in place to prevent the misuse of ultrasound machines for sex determination, in extraordinary circumstances, courts could always make an exception. The judge observed that the man’s right to life would be violated if provisions of the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994, were interpreted in a manner that prevented him from accessing essential medical equipment.

The court added that in a medical emergency, where a petitioner is not in a position to be transported to a location where the machine is available, and in a situation where a procedure has been prescribed for a patient in domiciliary care, the provisions of the PNDT Act and the government notification should not interfere with the treatment.