Editor Mr.Mayank Rawat ( Chief Editor Mr. Rohit Mishra )
RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh High Court has reaffirmed the unconstitutionality of conducting virginity tests, emphasizing that such practices violate Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, including the right to dignity.
The observation came in response to a criminal revision petition filed under Section 19(4) of the Family Courts Act, 1984, challenging the Family Court’s order dated October 15, 2024, rejecting an interim application under Section 144 of BNSS, 2023.
On July 2, 2024, the respondent woman filed an application under Section 144 of BNSS, 2023, before the Family Court in Raigarh, seeking maintenance of Rs. 20,000 per month. The case is currently at the evidence stage.
The petitioner husband and the respondent wife were married on April 30, 2023, according to Hindu rites and customs. Following their marriage, they resided together at the applicant’s family home in Urga Tehsil of Korba district, Chhattisgarh. However, the respondent later accused the applicant of being impotent and refused to cohabit with him.
In response to the maintenance claim, the applicant husband sought a virginity test of the respondent wife, alleging that she was involved in an illicit relationship with her brother-in-law and that no sexual intercourse had taken place between them since marriage. The Family Court dismissed the request for a virginity test, leading to the present criminal revision petition.
The High Court Single Bench of Justice Arvind Kumar Verma, after hearing the arguments and reviewing the legal precedents, upheld the Family Court’s decision, reinforcing that the demand for a virginity test is unconstitutional. The court cited the rulings in State of Jharkhand Vs. Shailendra Kumar Rai (2022) 14 SCC 299 – The Supreme Court explicitly held that conducting the “two-finger test” or per vaginum examination on a person who has alleged sexual assault constitutes misconduct.
In Sephy Vs. CBI and Others Delhi HC ruled that conducting a virginity test on a female detainee or accused is unconstitutional and violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which upholds the right to dignity.
Mayank Rawat
