Supreme Court will hear two-finger test case today to determine its constitutional validity
In May, the bench had said that the controversial procedure to ascertain a woman’s rape claims violates their right to privacy.
The Supreme Court on Friday will continue proceedings to determine the constitutional validity of the two-finger test that some women have to undergo if they claim they have been raped. In May, the apex court had said that the controversial test violates a woman’s right to privacy.
The hearing holds significance as the top court on Thursday declared privacy a fundamental right protected by the Indian Constitution.
The test is used to determine whether the woman is habituated to sexual intercourse by checking whether her vaginal opening is narrow or broad. Justices BS Chauhan and FMI Kalifulla had asked the government to introduce better medical procedures to verify sexual assault claims.
Rape victims are entitled to “legal recourse that does not re-traumatise them or violate their physical or mental integrity and dignity”, the bench had said, adding that results of the test cannot prove a woman’s consent.
In 2013, the Supreme Court had banned the two-finger test to ascertain rape. “Rape survivors are also entitled to medical procedures conducted in a manner that respects their right to consent,” it had held.