Virginity Test On Woman Violates Right To Dignity, Unconstitutional: Chhattisgarh HC Rejects Husband's Plea To Ascertain Wife's Virginity

The Chhattisgarh High Court has emphatically held that conducting virginity test on a woman is an affront to her right to life and dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and thus, no woman can be forced to undergo such test/procedure.The Single Bench of Justice Arvind Kumar Verma binned a plea made by the husband to conduct medical test on his wife to ascertain her virginity and held –“Article 21 of the Constitution of India not only guarantees the right of life and personal liberty but also right to live with dignity, which is crucial for women. No woman can be forced to conduct her virginity test. It is the violation of fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21.”Brief BackgroundOn April 30, 2023, the petitioner-husband and the respondent-wife married each other as per Hindu customs and started their marital life. However, shortly after the marriage, the wife told her father that her husband is impotent and basing upon such allegation, she refused to cohabit with him.Subsequently, she filed an application under Section 144 (corresponding to Section 125 of CrPC) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) seeking maintenance of Rs. 20,000/- per month from her husband. While adjudication of such maintenance application was pending before the Family Court, Raigarh, the husband filed an interim application praying for a direction to conduct virginity test on his wife.It was his further allegation that he never had sexual intercourse with his wife and she had an illicit relationship with her brother-in-law. The Family Court, however, did not allow the prayer of the husband and put down the request to conduct virginity test on wife. Being aggrieved, he filed this revision petition under Section 19(4) of the Family Courts Act impugning the rejection order.Court's ObservationsThe Court, at the outset, examined the legality of the prayer made by the husband as to conducting a virginity test on his wife. It relied upon the landmark ruling of the Supreme Court in State of Jharkhand v. Shailendra Kumar Rai, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 890 which held that any person who conducts the 'two-finger test' or per vaginum examination, in contravention of the directions of the Apex Court, shall be guilty of misconduct.It also referred to the judgment of the Delhi High Court in Sr. Sephy v. CBI & Ors., 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 127 which ruled that the virginity test conducted on a female detainee, accused under investigation, or in custody, whether judicial or police, is unconstitutional and in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution which includes right to dignity.Having regard for the aforesaid precedents, the Court said that the prayer made by the petitioner/husband to conduct virginity test on the respondent/wife is unconstitutional and in violation of Article 21 of the Constitution, which includes the right to dignity of the women.“It has to be borne in mind that Article 21 is the “heart of fundamental rights”. Moreover, it is a basic right of a female to be treated with decency and proper dignity and virginity test is a violation of it,” it underlined.Justice Verma further remarked that the right of personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution is inviolable and cannot be tinkered with in any manner. If the husband wants to disprove that the allegations of impotency levelled against him by the respondent/wife, the Court asserted, he can undergo the 'concerned medical test' or he can produce any other evidence in that regard.“He cannot possibly be permitted to subject the wife to undergo her virginity test and fill up the lacuna in his evidence in this regard. Be that as it may, but in any case, granting the permission for virginity test of the respondent would be against her fundamental rights, the cardinal principles of natural justice and secret modesty of a female,” it added.Accordingly, the criminal revision petition was dismissed and the impugned order was found to be just and reasonable, and hence, was upheld.Case Title: SS v. ASCase No: CRR No. 16 of 2025Date of Order: January 09, 2025Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. Aniket Verma, AdvocateCounsel for the Respondent: NoneCitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Chh) 24Click Here To Read/Download Order

Virginity Test On Woman Violates Right To Dignity, Unconstitutional: Chhattisgarh HC Rejects Husband's Plea To Ascertain Wife's Virginity

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