Medical Examination of victim of rape
AI Assist
Summary
During investigation of rape or attempted rape, the woman must be sent within 24 hours for a medical examination by a registered medical practitioner at a government or local authority hospital, or by another registered doctor if none are available. The exam requires the woman’s consent (or that of a competent person), a prompt detailed report naming the woman and the person who brought her, noting age, DNA material collected, injuries, mental condition, exact timings and reasons for conclusions, and the doctor must send that report to the investigating officer within seven days. No examination without consent is lawful.
Example
Meera reports an alleged rape and is taken to the police. She must be sent within 24 hours to a registered doctor at a government hospital; with her consent the doctor will examine her, collect DNA material, note injuries and mental state, record start and end times, and forward a written report to the investigating officer within seven days.
Bare Act
Enacted text(1) Where, during the stage when an offence of committing rape or attempt to commit rape is under investigation, it is proposed to get the person of the woman with whom rape is alleged or attempted to have been committed or attempted, examined by a medical expert, such examination shall be conducted by a registered medical practitioner employed in a hospital run by the Government or a local authority and in the absence of such a practitioner, by any other registered medical practitioner, with the consent of such woman or of a person competent to give such consent on her behalf and such woman shall be sent to such registered medical practitioner within twenty-four hours from the time of receiving the information relating to the commission of such offence.
(2) The registered medical practitioner, to whom such woman is sent, shall, without delay, examine her person and prepare a report of his examination giving the following particulars, namely:-
(i) the name and address of the woman and of the person by whom she was brought;
(ii) the age of the woman;
(iii) the description of material taken from the person of the woman for DNA profiling;
(iv) marks of injury, if any, on the person of the woman;
(v) general mental condition of the woman; and
(vi) other material particulars in reasonable detail.
(3) The report shall state precisely the reasons for each conclusion arrived at.
(4) The report shall specifically record that the consent of the woman or of the person competent to give such consent on her behalf to such examination had been obtained.
(5) The exact time of commencement and completion of the examination shall also be noted in the report.
(6) The registered medical practitioner shall, within a period of seven days forward the report to the investigating officer who shall forward it to the Magistrate referred to in section 193 as part of the documents referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (6) of that section.
(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed as rendering lawful any examination without the consent of the woman or of any person competent to give such consent on her behalf.
Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, "examination" and "registered medical practitioner" shall have the same meanings as respectively assigned to them in section 51.
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