New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it is unfortunate that the ‘two-finger’ system of testing rape victims is prevalent in society even today. He told the Center and the state that now this test should not happen. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli overturned the Jharkhand High Court’s acquittal of a convict in the rape and murder incident and upheld the order of a lower court holding him guilty.
The bench said a decade-old judgment of the apex court had termed the ‘two-finger test’ as a violation of the dignity and privacy of a woman. “Unfortunately, this system is still prevalent. The genital examination of women is an attack on their dignity. It cannot be said that a sexually active woman cannot be raped.
The top court issued certain directions to central and state government officials and asked state director generals of police and health secretaries to ensure that the ‘two-finger test’ is not conducted. She said anyone taking the ‘two-finger’ test would be convicted of misconduct. The bench directed the health secretaries of the Center and the states to remove study material related to the ‘two-finger’ test from the syllabus of government and private medical colleges.
