NEW DELHI: The Supreme court today slammed the use of “two-finger test” in cases of rape and sexual assault and asked the centre and states to ensure the practice is stopped. The bench said a decade-old decision of the top court had held the invasive “two-finger test” as a violation of a woman’s dignity and privacy.
It is regrettable that “two-finger test” continues to be conducted even today, a bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli lamented while restoring the conviction in a rape case.
“This court has time and again deprecated the use of two finger test in cases alleging rape and sexual assault. The so called test has no scientific basis. It instead re-victimises and re-traumatises women. The two finger test must not be conducted….The test is based on an incorrect assumption that a sexually active woman cannot be raped. Nothing can be further from the truth”, the bench observed while pronouncing the judgment.
It issued a slew of directions to the Centre and state government authorities and asked the DGPs and health secretaries of the states to ensure that the “two-finger test” is not conducted.
The judgement also directed the Union Ministry of Health Affairs to ensure that survivors of penetrative sexual assault and rape are not subjected to two finger test. The Bench asked the Ministry to conduct workshops and communicate the order to all the the Director General of Police across all States.