The Supreme Court asked the Center and the states to ensure that this practice is stopped.
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today condemned the use of “two-finger test” in rape and sexual assault cases and asked the Center to ensure that the practice is stopped.
The practice of tracing women’s sexual histories has no scientific basis, and instead it again traumatizes them, the Supreme Court said as it ruled that anyone with a “two-finger test” on a man The person will be guilty of misconduct.
“It is patriarchal and sexist to suggest that a woman cannot be believed when she says she was raped simply because she is sexually active,” the top court said.
A bench of Supreme Court Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli made these observations while restoring a conviction in a rape case.
The bench overturned the Jharkhand High Court’s acquittal of a rape and murder convict and upheld the trial court’s conviction.
The top court directed the Center and the states to review the syllabus in all government and private medical colleges and remove the study material on “two-finger test”.
The Supreme Court also asked the Health Ministry to organize workshops for healthcare providers in all states and to explain the proper procedure for screening survivors of sexual assault.
In 2013 also, the Supreme Court held that the “two-finger test” violates the dignity and privacy of a woman.