Supreme Court Bans 'Two-Finger Test', Says It Re-Victimises & Re-Traumatises Victims Of Rape

The bench overturned a decision of the Jharkhand High Court acquitting a rape and murder convict and upheld a decision of a trial court holding him guilty.

File Photo of Supreme Court.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday imposed a ban on the “Two-Finger Test” in rape cases and warned that persons who will be found conducting such tests would be held guilty of misconduct. The apex court has asked the Union Government to ensure that the ban on the test is enforced.

According to news agency PTI, a bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli said that it is regrettable that the “Two-Finger Test” continues to be conducted even today. The bench made these remarks while restoring the conviction in a rape case.

The bench overturned a decision of the Jharkhand High Court acquitting a rape and murder convict and upheld a decision of a trial court holding him guilty. The bench said a decade-old decision of the top court had held the invasive "two-finger test" as a violation of a woman's dignity and privacy, PTI reported.

"This court has time and again deprecated the use of two finger test in cases alleging rape and sexual assault. The so-called test has no scientific basis. It instead re-victimises and re-traumatises women. The two-finger test must not be conducted...The test is based on an incorrect assumption that a sexually active woman cannot be raped. Nothing can be further from the truth", The Live Law quoted the bench as stated.

"It is unfortunate that the practice is still prevalent even today… The procedure which tests vaginal laxity is upfront on women's dignity. It cannot be said that a sexually active woman cannot be raped," the apex court stressed while pronouncing the judgment, as reported by PTI.

The top court issued a slew of directions to the Centre and state government authorities and asked the DGPs and health secretaries of the states to ensure that the "two-finger test" is not conducted.

It also directed the Centre and the health secretaries to take steps to remove the study materials on "two-finger" tests from the curriculum of government and private medical colleges. 

(With PTI Inputs)