Sister Abhaya murder: Virginity test on accused unconstitutional, holds Delhi High Court in plea by convict Sister Sephy

A forced virginity test on persons in police or judicial custody is unconstitutional, the Delhi High Court held on Tuesday..According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the Court observed that the basic dignity of a person has to be upheld while in custody as well. .A virginity test administered on a female detainee or an accused while in police or judicial custody violates Article 21 of the Constitution, the Court ruled. .Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma passed the order in a case concerning the virginity test conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on sister Sephy, a nun who was convicted in the sister Abhaya murder case. .Sister Sephy was among those convicted by a Special CBI Court in Kerala in 2020, for the murder of another nun, sister Abhaya, 28 years after she was found dead at the convent in 1992. .In the trial court verdict, the judge concluded that sister Abhaya was killed after she witnessed a priest (also convicted in the case), Father Thomas Kottoor and sister Sephy in a compromising position. Having witnessed this, she was hit on the head with a 'hand axe' and thrown into a well to cover up the cause of her death, the trial court had found. .The trial court was also told that aister Sephy had undergone a gynecological procedure to cover up the fact that she had engaged in sexual intercourse. The Court noted that the procedure was done “on the eve” of her arrest by the CBI..[Sister Abhaya murder] All you need to know about the Special CBI court verdict.In 2008, after her arrest in the case, Sephy accused the CBI of having conducted a virginity test on her without her consent, drawing criticism from several quarters. .The Delhi High Court on Tuesday, while holding that the virginity test so conducted was unconstitutional, added that sister Sephy may avail legal remedies against the CBI. .The Court also passed various directions to sensitise investigating officers on this issue. .A copy of the judgment is awaited.