Himachal Pradesh HC Criticizes Doctors for Conducting Two-Finger Test on Minor Rape Survivor

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has criticized doctors at Palampur Civil Hospital for subjecting a minor rape survivor to the two-finger test. The court directed the state government to compensate the child with Rs 5 lakh after recovering the amount from the culpable doctors.

In deeming the Medico-legal Case (MLC) report in the child rape case as “demeaning,” a division bench comprising Justices Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Satyen Vaidya, mandated an inquiry against the doctors responsible and instructed the government to hold them accountable.

The court denounced the MLC as “self-incriminating, self-inculpatory, and infringing upon the privacy of the minor rape survivor.” It criticized the doctors for conducting the two-finger test, considering it a violation of the survivor’s rights, both in terms of physical and mental integrity. The court explicitly prohibited medical professionals from performing such tests and warned that those who defy this directive would face prosecution.

Citing the “gross insensitivity” displayed by those involved in designing the MLC, the court deemed the hospital’s proforma as “legally flawed.” It highlighted that the proforma disregarded section 53 A of the Indian Evidence Act and violated guidelines and protocols issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for health professionals dealing with survivors of sexual violence.

The Court summoned the Secretary (Health) of the state, who failed to justify the hospital-issued proforma. The court revealed that the proforma was designed by certain doctors and was promptly withdrawn.