New Delhi: The Supreme Court has held that the two-finger test on a rape survivor violates her right to privacy, and asked the government to provide better medical procedures to confirm sexual assault. A bench of Justices BS Chauhan and FMI Kalifulla said even if the report of the two-finger test is affirmative, it cannot give rise to presumption of consent on part of a rape victim.
"Undoubtedly, the two-finger test and its interpretation violates the right of rape survivors to privacy, physical and mental integrity and dignity. Thus, this test, even if the report is affirmative, cannot ipso facto, be given rise to presumption of consent," the bench said.
The two-finger test entails medical inspection of the female hymen. Referring to various international covenants, the judges said rape survivors are entitled to legal recourse that does not violate their physical or mental integrity and dignity.
"Medical procedures should not be carried out in a manner that constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and health should be of paramount consideration while dealing with gender-based violence," the apex court said. "The State is under an obligation to make such services available to survivors of sexual violence. Proper measures should be taken to ensure their safety and there should be no arbitrary or unlawful interference with her privacy," the bench said. ...
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12:06 PM, May 19, 2013
New Delhi: A 13-year-old girl attempted suicide Saturday after being allegedly gangraped by eight men, four of whom are known to her. She is in ICU in serious condition, the family said. Three of the accused have been arrested, police said Saturday. The girl, who was abducted March 15 by the men and released after nine days, consumed an overdose of sleeping pills in the morning at her house in...
11:33 PM, Apr 20, 2013
Seoni (MP): A five-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped by a 35-year-old man in Ghansour town, is being shifted to Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra in an air ambulance as her condition remains serious. "After taking the consent of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, we are shifting the survivor from Jabalpur to Nagpur tonight by air ambulance as she continues to be in serious condition," Minister of State for School Education...
11:29 PM, Apr 20, 2013
The Deoria ASP, who was caught on camera humiliating a 35-year-old Dalit rape victim, was on Saturday transfered by the Uttar Pradesh government. The SHO of Bankata police station, who had allegedly refused to file rape complaint of the woman, was also sent to police lines, a home department spokesman said. ...
07:52 PM, Mar 23, 2013
The mother of the Suryanelli rape survivor has written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi demanding the removal of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman PJ Kurien. The development came even as the Kerala Assembly was adjourned once again on Thursday after the Opposition staged a walkout over the issue. ...
06:25 PM, Feb 07, 2013
It's been four months, since a rape survivor in Faziabad has been fighting a lone battle to get her culprit punished. After being raped by her friend, she was disowned by her family and the police officer, from whom she sought help, also didn't spare her. The accused is still absconding and the society doesn't leave a chance to ridicule her saying it was all her fault. ...
10:36 AM, Jan 07, 2013
The distraught mother of the 23-year-old braveheart, who succumbed to her massive injuries on Saturday that she had suffered during the brutal gangrape on December 16, collapsed and was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital after her daughter's body was taken away for last rites. ...
05:57 PM, Dec 30, 2012
In his condolence message on the death of the Delhi braveheart, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "I am deeply saddened to learn that the unfortunate victim of the brutal assault that took place on December 16 in New Delhi has succumbed to the grievous injuries she suffered following that attack. I join the nation in conveying to her family and friends my deepest condolences at this terrible loss." ...
07:35 AM, Dec 29, 2012
Allow yourself the moment of despair and desolation you are feeling right now. You deserve to grieve privately the death of a woman that could have been your 23-year-old daughter, niece, sister or grand daughter. Switch off the TV, shut out the politics that will eventually engulf the news of her painful demise, drawn out over 10 days. ...
03:56 AM, Dec 29, 2012
After battling with massive internal injuries for 13 days sustained during the brutal gangrape by half-a-dozen men in a moving bus in Delhi, the 23-year-old woman has died at Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Here is a timeline of the past 13 days: ...
03:49 AM, Dec 29, 2012
Delhi gangrape survivor's condition worsens, signs of severe organ failure. Government defends decision to shift Delhi gangrape survivor to Singapore, rules out politics. ...
11:57 PM, Dec 28, 2012
The government on Friday defended the decision to shift the 23-year-old Delhi gangrape victim from the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi to the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, saying it was not political, but a pure medical decision. Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid asserted that doctors were consulted before taking the decision. ...
10:40 PM, Dec 28, 2012
It was a "purely medical decision" to shift the 23-year-old Delhi gangrape survivor to Singapore and it was not due to political reasons, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said Friday. "It was done for medical purposes. It was purely a medical decision taken by the doctors," Khurshid said to a question on reports that Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was behind the move to shift the gangrape survivor to Singapore...
08:55 PM, Dec 28, 2012
The condition of the 23-year-old Delhi gangrape survivor has worsened. According to a health bulletin from the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore, the condition of the survivor has taken a turn for the worse. ...
08:48 PM, Dec 28, 2012
Dr Naimish Mehta of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said there is nothing that the Singapore hospital has which those in India don't have. ...
06:55 PM, Dec 28, 2012
Dr VP Nair of the Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore said that cardiac arrest in a young patient after multiple injuries is a serious problem. ...
06:27 PM, Dec 28, 2012
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Wednesday defended the government's move to shift Delhi gangrape survivor, who is battling for her life, to Singapore and refuted allegations that the decision was political. "The decision to shift (the survivor) was not political. We had consulted doctors," said the home minister. ...
05:54 PM, Dec 28, 2012
As the young paramedic student battles for her life at a hospital in Singapore, where she was airlifted on Wednesday night, doubts have been raised as to why the gangrape survivor was shifted there for treatment. ...
04:59 PM, Dec 28, 2012
Rejecting Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's charges of interfering in the recording of the gangrape surviver's statement by the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said, "No questionnaire was given to SDM by the police." ...
05:15 PM, Dec 25, 2012
The 23-year-old gangrape survivor, who is battling for life at the Safdarjung hospital, continues to be in a critical condition, though her health is better than that on Monday. According to the doctors at the Safdarjung hospital, the blood reports of the survivor are better and liver function is also stable. ...
04:59 PM, Dec 25, 2012
