YouTuber Irfan courts trouble for revealing sex of his unborn child

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Health Department on Tuesday issued a notice to YouTuber and food vlogger Irfan for violating the PCPNDT Act, 1994, by revealing the sex of his unborn child in videos posted on his YouTube channel.

Also, the department has asked the Tamil YouTuber to remove the videos about the prenatal sex determination test and subsequent disclosure.

Posting a video of his pregnant wife undergoing the prenatal sex determination test at a hospital in Dubai, on his channel 'Irfan's View', he said that it was legal in several countries, including, Dubai to conduct this test, but not in India, where it was banned.

"When I was born in 1993, my mother knew my gender. It was not a big issue then. It was stopped because many mad people were discriminating against female gender," he said in the video.

"The YouTuber Irfan revealed to the audience during a family function that he found out the gender of his wife's unborn child (girl) after a scan during his visit to Dubai," the health department release said.

The video posted on May 19 on his channel was watched and shared by many viewers all over the world.

"Ascertaining and announcing the gender of a child in India is prohibited under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) ACT 1994. Such an action will lead to a decline of the female birth rate besides leading to crimes against women," the release said.

Hence, a memo has been issued to Irfan for violating the provisions of the said Act. Also, a letter was sent to the Cyber Crime Division asking them to immediately remove the video uploaded by Irfan from social media, it said.

The government warned of stringent legal action against persons, scan centers, and hospitals who indulge in prenatal tests.

Following the backlash, the YouTuber removed the controversial video disclosing the gender.