Delhi Supreme Court
Photo: ANNI
The Delhi High Court ruled that performing a ‘virginity test’ on a female accused is unconstitutional, sexist and violates the right to dignity. There is no legal procedure that provides for ‘virginity testing’. Such a test is inhumane.
Judge Swarna Kanta Sharma made the remark on Tuesday in an order issued 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), would be declared unconstitutional. The court said the virginity test of a female prisoner or accused in police or judicial custody violates Article 21 of the Constitution.
Accusation: CBI had forcibly performed a virginity test
Sister Sefi and others were sentenced in 2020 by a special CBI court in Kerala. The court had said the nun was put to death when she saw Father Thomas Kottur (convicted in the case) and Sister Sefi in a compromising position. Sefi had claimed that the CBI forcibly tested her virginity in 2008 and leaked the report.
(TagsToTranslate)Delhi News