Dhaka, May 11 -- The High Court has released the full text of its verdict declaring the determination and disclosure of an unborn child's gender through medical tests "illegal, discriminatory, and unconstitutional".

The verdict, delivered by the High Court bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque, was recently published after the court issued its short order on Feb 25, 2024.

The court ordered the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to create a central database within six months to preserve and monitor records related to such diagnostic reports from all hospitals and diagnostic centres across the country.

The writ petition was filed on Jan 26, 2020, by Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan, seeking directives to ...