Delhi High Court's decision - virginity test of female accused unconstitutional and sexist
The Delhi High Court held that conducting a 'virginity test' of a female accused is unconstitutional, sexist and violative of the right to dignity.
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The Delhi High Court held that conducting a 'virginity test' of a female accused is unconstitutional, sexist and violative of the right to dignity. There is no legal procedure that provides for 'virginity testing'. Such a test is inhumane.
Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma made the observation on Tuesday in an order passed on a petition filed by Sister Sefi, who was convicted in the 1992 Kerala nun Abhaya murder case. Sister Sefi demanded that her 'virginity test' conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) be declared unconstitutional. The court said that the test of virginity of a female prisoner or accused in police or judicial custody is violative of Article 21 of the Constitution.
Allegation: CBI had forcibly conducted virginity test
A special CBI court in Kerala had convicted Sister Sefi and others in 2020. The trial court had said that the nun was axed to death when it saw Father Thomas Kottur (convicted in the case) and Sister Sefi in a compromising position. Sefi had alleged that the CBI forcibly got her virginity tested in 2008 and leaked the report.