The Supreme Court on Thursday held that police cannot investigate offences under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.

The PCPNDT Act was enacted with the intent to prohibit the use of prenatal diagnostic techniques for determination of the sex of the foetus.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh held that authorities designated under the law must take action in such cases.

The top court said the PCPNDT Act concerns matters that are technical and which may require medical knowledge and sensitivity.

"Police are not meant to be the investigators for the purposes of this Act," the bench said, adding that police can only play a supplementary role according to the provisions.

"The restriction applies only to offences under this Act and does not restrict the police's power to investigate and to prosecute independent offences disclosed in the substantive criminal law," the bench said.

The apex court's judgement came in a case concerning the police's power to register FIRs and investigate offences under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994.

A detailed judgement is awaited.