CHENNAI: Madras high court has made it clear that a male accused of sexual harassment cannot compulsorily be made to undergo a potency test.
A division bench of Justice N Anand Venkatesh and Justice Sundar Mohan made the observation while hearing a batch of cases, including an incident in Chidambaram involving a male student and a minor girl.
During the hearing of these cases, district-level sessions courts should not pass any orders mandating potency tests for men arrested in sexual assault cases, the HC said.
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If an accused person wishes to undergo the test to prove his innocence, he can approach the court. Therefore, no one should be compelled to undergo a potency test, the bench said. The court then directed the DGP to circulate the order to all police station inspectors and said that doctors must also ensure that men are not compelled to undergo potency tests.
Representing the state, the prosecutor submitted that while the authorities are diligently following the orders passed by the court in banning the two-finger test, another order to preserve the foetus till the disposal of the criminal case could not be properly followed due to lack of such facilities in all govt hospitals. Recording the submissions, the HC directed govt to file a detailed report on the availability of such facilities in govt hospitals.
If any hospital lacks such a facility then it must be ensured that the foetus is preserved at a hospital where the facility is available, the HC said.
Pointing out recent incidents where the identities of victims of sexual harassment were leaked, the bench said it would pass an elaborate order on the issue on March 14.