'Law is necessary but not sufficient to overcome entrenched patriarchy.' In light of the SC's June 2026 observation on sex selection, evaluate the multi-pronged approach India has adopted for gender-neutral demographics.

Q. 'Law is necessary but not sufficient to overcome entrenched patriarchy.' In light of the SC's June 2026 observation on sex selection, evaluate the multi-pronged approach India has adopted for gender-neutral demographics. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Dismissing a doctor's challenge to PC&PNDT proceedings in June 2026, the Supreme Court held that sex selection survives "behind the curtains" due to deep-seated patriarchal preferences for a male child [1]. India's response has therefore combined prohibition, incentive and persuasion — a mix that has delivered measurable demographic gains but has not yet dislodged the underlying preference.

Merits of the multi-pronged approach - Legal prohibition: the PC&PNDT Act, 1994 (in force 1996, amended 2003 to cover pre-conception techniques and ultrasound machines) criminalises sex determination and advertising, with the Central Supervisory Board as apex oversight [2]. - Demographic outcome: Sex Ratio at Birth improved by 18 points, from 819 (2016-18) to 917 (2021-23) per SRS 2023 — evidence that enforcement plus awareness works [3]. - Promotional arm: Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (2015), a tri-ministerial scheme extended nationwide, shifted the frame from merely banning sex selection to affirmatively valuing the girl child [4]. - Structural reform: equal coparcenary rights for daughters and girl-child savings instruments attack the economic logic of son preference.

Limits — why law alone falls short - Child Sex Ratio fell from 927 (2001) to 914 (2011) despite the Act, showing law lagging behind technology and attitudes [5]. - Enforcement capacity gaps: unregistered machines, clandestine clinics and understaffed Appropriate Authorities reluctant to prosecute fellow professionals; MoHFW's national sensitisation drive concedes this [3]. - Several States remain below the national SRB average, indicating regionally entrenched norms [1]. - Root causes — dowry, patrilineal inheritance, old-age security and ritual roles — lie outside the reach of penal law.

Verdict: the approach is directionally sound and empirically successful, but its gains are enforcement-driven and therefore reversible. Sustaining them requires converting deterrence into conviction — better-resourced Appropriate Authorities, community-level monitoring, and daughters' real access to property and work. Only when the girl child is socially valued, not merely legally protected, will India realise Article 15's promise and SDG-5's commitment to gender equality.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. Supreme Court of India — judgment dismissing appeal against PC&PNDT proceedings (June 2026) — "deep-seated patriarchal preferences", "behind the curtains" sex selection, States below national SRB average 2. Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act — PIB — 1994 enactment, 1996 commencement, 2003 amendment, Central Supervisory Board 3. National-Level Sensitization Meeting on Strengthening PC&PNDT Act Implementation — PIB — SRB 819 (2016-18) to 917 (2021-23); enforcement strengthening drive 4. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme — PIB — 2015 launch, tri-ministerial design, nationwide expansion 5. Decline in Child Sex Ratio — PIB — CSR 927 (2001) to 914 (2011)