A Bollywood superstar and his wife are under investigation by health officials in India following reports that the couple know the sex of a baby they are having through a surrogate mother.

A complaint to India’s health authorities has alleged that Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri know they are expecting a boy.

Sex determination tests are banned in India to stop the practice of aborting female fetuses due to a preference for sons.

India’s Health Ministry has now launched an investigation. The Press Trust of India reported that Khan was not at home when authorities tried to question him about the reports that the surrogate mother had the test.

Khan – who has a 16-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter – has so far not commentated.

Speaking to CNN, Dr Jignesh Thakkar of the Indian Radiological & Imaging Association, said that the health ministry investigated the case at its request.

‘We wanted to know how this apparently had been leaked out because it’s confidential information that only a doctor and not even a patient knows,’ he said

‘Action should be taken against doctors and patients who are not following this law.’

India’s 2011 census showed that the country had 914 girls for every 1,000 boys under age 6, a gender ratio mainly attributed to sex-selective abortions despite the ban on prenatal gender tests.

As well as being banned in India, sex determination tests are also banned throughout Asia because of a traditional preference for sons.

Doctors found to have provided information to parents about the sex of an unborn child could face three years in jail. They could also have their medical license suspended for five years.

Parents could also face five years in jail.