New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the use of the “two-finger test” in cases of rape and imposed a ban on the practice.
The top court also said that any person conducting such test will be considered guilty of misconduct.
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The practice has no scientific basis to ascertain the sexual history of women, and it instead re-traumatises them, observed a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli.
“It is patriarchal and sexist to suggest that a woman cannot be believed when she states that she was raped merely because she is sexually active,” the bench maintained.
The apex court’s made the remarks while deciding on an appeal filed against a judgment of the Telangana High Court which overturned the conviction recorded by a trial court in a rape case and upheld a decision of a trial court holding him guilty.
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The top court directed the centre and the states to review curriculums in all government and private medical colleges and have the study materials on the “two-finger test” removed.
The Supreme Court also asked the health ministry to conduct workshops for health service providers in all states in order to communicate the appropriate procedure for examining the survivors of sexual assault.
In 2013 too, the Supreme Court had held that the “two-finger test” violated a woman’s dignity and privacy.