Medical Officer should not arrive at conclusion

The Madras High Court today ruled that a medical officer who examines a rape victim should only state whether there was evidence that it had occurred and not arrive at a medical conclusion.
"The doctor should only say whether the victim has been raped," Justices A Selvam and T Mathivanan said.
"When the doctor examines the victim, he or she should only state whether the crime had taken place and not do medical diagnosis", the judge said confirming the 12-year rigorous imprisonment of a youth who raped an eight-year-old girl on October 28, 2013.
The judges wondered why the doctor, who examined the victim, made a statement that there was no evidence to suggest sexual intercourse as the hymen was intact and there was no internal injuries.

As per criminal law, "it is not necessary that there should be complete penetration or rupture of hymen to decide whether a person has been raped."
The judges said it was quite possible to commit the offence without causing any injury to the genitals or even leaving seminal stains.
The judges rejected the contention of the accused that the case had been foisted on him by the child's parents, saying such a contention was "illogical imagination".
Rape was a serious crime and the Supreme Court had said in a judgement that a woman loses face when she was raped, the judges said.