The Delhi High Court ruled on Tuesday that it is unconstitutional to perform a virginity test on a female detainee, accused under investigation, or in custody, whether judicial or police. It is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution, which includes the right to dignity.
Passing the judgement, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma stated that the necessary information regarding the unconstitutionality of the virginity test is circulated to all investing agencies and stakeholders through the Secretaries of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Delhi.
The Delhi High Court issued these instructions while hearing a case involving the virginity test performed on Sister Sephy, who is accused in the Sister Abhaya murder case.
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Virginity Test On Accused
The judgement directed the Delhi judicial academy to include information regarding this issue in its curriculum and in workshops conducted for investigating officers, prosecutors, and other stakeholders.
The Delhi Police Academy for training is also directed to include this information in its curriculum. The commissioner of police, Delhi, is also directed to ensure that the investigation officers are informed and sensitised regarding this issue.
In 2020, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) found that Sister Sephy was guilty of the murder of Sister Abhaya and sentenced her to life imprisonment. The trial court gave this verdict based on the virginity test findings. The sentence is now under consideration in an appeal at the Kerala High Court.
According to the petitioner, she was forced to undergo the virginity test against her will by the central bureau of investigation on November 25, 2008.
The virginity test was performed by the investigation agency under the pretext of an investigation to substantiate their case in the death of the deceased. Sister Abhaya was found dead in a well on March 27, 1992.
The test result was allegedly leaked to the media by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The petitioner claims that the virginity test was forcefully performed by the CBI against her consent and that the selective leakage of test results by the investigation agency to the print and electronic media even before submitting the results to the concerned court amounts to a violation of the petitioner’s fundamental rights.
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