State Must Share Steps Taken Against Old/Unethical Tests on Rape Survivors: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court (HC) has directed the Maharashtra government to submit a report on the steps it has taken to raise awareness among medical professionals about the harmful nature of the "two-finger test".

This test, also called the per vaginum examination, is used on survivors of sexual assault and rape. The court has asked for details on how the state has informed doctors that this test is inhumane, discriminatory, and unscientific.

A division bench of justices Nitin Sambre and Vrushali Joshi passed this order. The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Smita Singalkar. The petition challenged the use and ethics of the test.

The matter is linked to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the State of Jharkhand vs Shailendra Kumar Rai case. In that ruling, the Supreme Court had directed all states to act against the use of the test.

The Supreme Court had ordered states to update medical school syllabi. It also asked states to hold training sessions for doctors. These sessions must explain the correct way to examine survivors of sexual assault.

In addition, all public and private hospitals were to receive proper guidelines from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

During the hearing on March 26, advocate Renuka Sirpurkar informed the High Court that the state had to follow these orders. She said the government must submit details of all the steps taken. She also said that the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences must give its compliance report.

The petition also noted that the Maharashtra Health and Family Welfare Department had issued new guidelines on August 18, 2022. These changes affected the MBBS course. In particular, they updated the second-year anatomy syllabus.

As per the new rules, students were asked to study and discuss why the two-finger test is unscientific and wrong. They were also taught how to explain in court that such tests have no scientific basis.

The court was told that these changes followed suggestions from the National Medical Commission. The hearing is postponed to April 9.