THE TWO-FINGER TEST AND RAPE KITS IN INDIA: A CONSTITUTIONAL AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FORENSIC BEST PRACTICES IN SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES

AUTHOR – NIDHI MALAYIL, STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF LAW, CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY)

BEST CITATION – NIDHI MALAYIL, THE TWO-FINGER TEST AND RAPE KITS IN INDIA: A CONSTITUTIONAL AND COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FORENSIC BEST PRACTICES IN SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (3) OF 2026, PG. 12-22, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344. DOI – https://doi.org/10.65393/YASU3819

Abstract

An assault on the human body is regarded as one of the most serious human rights infringements. The mannerisms employed in legal and medical systems in treating survivors have had a great bearing on the course of justice. In India, the two-finger test remained a means of establishing medico-legal evidence until very recently, under the pretext of determining whether a rape survivor was ‘habituated to sexual intercourse.’ Although the courts have repeatedly emphasised its invalidity and inefficiency, it continues to be in use in some quarters, which substantially adds to the trauma already faced by survivors and goes against the principles of equality, privacy, and dignity enshrined in the Constitution. Meanwhile, due to technical impediments such as infrastructural and procedural lapses, scientifically sound and non-invasive forensic kits continue to be deployed sparsely. This research aims to critique the constitutional aspects of these practices, undertake a medico-legal perspective of the test, and juxtapose it against international best practices. Employing doctrinal, analytical, comparative, and descriptive methods, reforms are suggestive of bringing about alignment of Indian forensic practices with universal and constitutional standards, emphasising a survivor-centric approach to such reform.

Keywords

Two-finger test; rape kits; sexual assault; forensic evidence; constitutional law; human rights; India; comparative analysis; dignity; justice