Virginity test on female accused sexist, unconstitutional: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday ruled that conducting a virginity test on a female accused is unconstitutional sexist and in violation of the right to dignityThe court observed that there is no legal procedure that provides for a virginity test and such testing is a form of inhuman treatmentThe order was passed by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on a plea moved by Sister Sephy who sought to declare the conduct of a virginity test on her in connection with a criminal case over a nuns death in Kerala in 1992 as unconstitutionalAlso read Delhi HC seeks Centres stand on plea against solitary confinement of inmatesIt is declared that the virginity test conducted on a female detainee accused under investigation or in custody whether judicial or police is unconstitutional and in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution which includes right to dignity Justice Sharma saidThis court therefore holds that this test is sexist and in violation of the human right to dignity even of a female accused if she is subjected to such a test while being in custody the judge saidThe court emphasised that the concept of custodial dignity of a female includes her right to live with dignity even while in police custody and conducting a virginity test on her not only amounts to interference of the investigating agency with her bodily integrity but also with her psychological integrityStrangely though the word virginity may not have a definite scientific and medical definition it has become a mark of purity of a woman The intrusive testing procedure as has been held in several judgments of the Honble apex court does not have a medical standing the court observedIt will be difficult for this court to hold being guided by the constitutional principles of fundamental rights that a person in custody of the authorities surrenders the right to bodily integrity and submits to bodily intrusion for the prosecution to find evidence through its bodyThe feeling of being demeaned by such treatment in custody by bodily invasion through conducting a virginity test also brings forth the undesirable and abhorrent notion of differentiation on the basis of gender and stereotypes it saidThe court also said the right to dignity is not suspended even when a person is accused of committing an offence or arrested and the right to life and personal liberty can be suspended only in accordance with the procedure established by law which must be just fair and reasonable and not arbitrary fanciful and oppressiveThe right to personal liberty of an accused gets suspended the moment one is arrested as the same might be necessary for State security However the right to dignity is not suspended or waived even of an accused undertrial or a convict the court saidThe petitioner had alleged before the court that she was forcibly subjected to undergo a virginity test in 2008 by the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI under the pretext of an investigation to substantiate the agencys case in relation to the nuns death in 1992 and the test results were leakedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever