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FM8.1-16,FM14.12-14 | Sexual Offences & Reproductive Forensics — Practice Quiz
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Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, the offence of rape is defined under which section?
BNS Section 63 defines the offence of rape (replacing IPC Section 375). BNS Section 64 provides punishment. BNSS Section 184 covers the medical examination of a rape survivor.
Key legal update: IPC 375 → BNS 63 (rape definition); IPC 376 → BNS 64 (punishment); CrPC 164A → BNSS 184 (survivor examination); CrPC 53A → BNSS 397 (accused examination). POCSO 2012 remains unchanged.
BNS replaces the IPC. Rape under BNS = Section 63 (not IPC 375). Punishment = BNS Section 64. Medical examination of survivor = BNSS Section 184; examination of accused = BNSS Section 397.
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Under POCSO 2012, a child is defined as any person below the age of:
POCSO 2012 defines a child as any person under 18 years of age. Any sexual act with a person below 18 years is an offence under POCSO regardless of consent.
POCSO age threshold = <18 years. The Act is gender-neutral (protects all genders). It mandates mandatory reporting by any person aware of a POCSO offence and requires child-friendly court procedures.
POCSO 2012: child = below 18 years. Consent is irrelevant under POCSO — any sexual penetration or aggravated sexual assault involving a person <18 years is a POCSO offence.
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During examination of a rape survivor, which of the following is the most appropriate initial action by the examining doctor?
Informed written consent is mandatory before any examination of a rape survivor. If the survivor refuses specific components, respect the refusal, document it, and complete the rest of the examination. BNSS Section 184 mandates consent.
Survivor examination principles: written informed consent mandatory; female doctor preferred but not mandatory (BNSS 184); privacy essential (police excluded from room); examination must be completed promptly to preserve evidence; survivor may refuse any component.
Consent is legally and ethically mandatory. If a survivor refuses part of the examination, that part must not be performed — refusal must be documented. Police must NOT be present inside the examination room (privacy and autonomy).
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Which of the following samples is MOST important to collect within 72 hours of an alleged rape for DNA evidence?
High vaginal swab (and cervical swab) collected within 72 hours is the most important evidence sample for demonstrating recent sexual intercourse via presence of spermatozoa and semen (DNA). Spermatozoa may persist in the vagina up to 72 hours.
Sample collection in rape examination: high vaginal swab + cervical swab (spermatozoa/DNA), oral swab (if oral assault), rectal swab (if anal assault), fingernail scrapings (perpetrator DNA), clothing/underwear, blood (victim DNA baseline), and emergency contraception documentation.
High vaginal swab for spermatozoa and semen DNA is the primary forensic sample in rape examination. Spermatozoa persist in the vaginal vault up to 72 hours (motile up to 12 hours). Urine is not a primary semen sample source.
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Under BNS 2023, the minimum age of valid consent for sexual intercourse in India is:
Under BNS 2023, the age of consent is 18 years for all individuals. Sexual intercourse with a person below 18 years is rape under BNS Section 63, regardless of consent or marital status.
Consent age = 18 years universally under BNS. Any penetrative sexual act with a person <18 years = rape (BNS 63) + POCSO offence. Marital rape exception has been significantly narrowed; constitutional validity continues to be litigated.
The age of consent is uniformly 18 years under BNS 2023. The previous exception for husbands (marital rape partial exception for wives >15 years) has been progressively challenged. POCSO also sets the threshold at <18 years.
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The Supreme Court of India in the case of Lillu @ Rajesh v. State of Haryana (2013) held that virginity tests (two-finger test) are:
In Lillu v. State of Haryana (2013), the Supreme Court unequivocally condemned the two-finger (virginity) test as unconstitutional, unscientific, re-traumatising, and inadmissible as evidence. WHO also condemns this practice.
Two-finger test (per vaginal exam to 'assess' virginity): UNCONDITIONALLY BANNED — Supreme Court 2013 (Lillu case), WHO guidelines, MCI/NMC ethics code. Document refusal to perform this test explicitly in medico-legal records.
The two-finger test is banned by Supreme Court order (Lillu 2013). It is unscientific (hymenal status does not indicate virginity or prior sexual activity), violates fundamental rights, and is legally inadmissible. Performing it constitutes professional misconduct.
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Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act 2021, termination of pregnancy up to 24 weeks is permitted without a Medical Board in which of the following situations?
MTP Amendment 2021 allows termination up to 24 weeks for specific categories including rape survivors, minors, differently-abled persons, and women whose marital status changed during pregnancy — without requiring a Medical Board. A Medical Board is required only beyond 24 weeks for foetal abnormalities.
MTP 2021 key thresholds: up to 20 weeks = 1 doctor opinion; 20–24 weeks = 2 doctors opinion (special categories); >24 weeks = Medical Board only for foetal abnormalities; anytime = emergency to save mother's life. Age of foetus, not gestational age, is the technical term.
MTP 2021 up-to-24-weeks categories (no Medical Board needed): rape survivors, minor victims, women with disability, change of marital status during pregnancy. Beyond 24 weeks: Medical Board mandatory for foetal abnormalities. Emergency to save the mother's life has no gestation limit.
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The hydrostatic test (lung flotation test) is used at autopsy to determine whether a newborn infant was born alive. The test is considered positive (breathed) when:
The hydrostatic (Breslau) test: place lung (or cut fragments) in water — if they float, air is present (infant breathed). If they sink, the lungs were never aerated. However, the test is NOT 100% reliable (putrefactive gas or artificial inflation can cause false positives).
Hydrostatic test: float = breathed (positive, but not infallible). Also used: Wredin's test (stomach/bowel gas = swallowed air = breathed). Live birth determination requires integration of multiple criteria: hydrostatic test, diatom test, histological changes, umbilical cord separation.
Hydrostatic test positive = lung fragments float (air from breathing). Limitations: false positive from putrefaction gas; false negative if lungs collapse after breathing (rare). Always interpret in context of other findings (skin changes, cord separation).
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In medicolegal examination of a male accused of sexual assault for evidence of impotence, which finding MOST definitively establishes organic erectile dysfunction?
The nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) test (RigiScan) objectively measures spontaneous erections during sleep, bypassing psychological factors. Absent NPT in repeated nights = organic erectile dysfunction. This is the gold standard for distinguishing organic from psychogenic impotence.
Forensic assessment of impotence: NPT test (gold standard for organic), hormonal workup (FSH/LH/testosterone), penile Doppler for vascular causes. Psychogenic impotence retains NPT; organic impotence abolishes it. Relevant when impotence is raised as a defence in sexual assault cases.
NPT testing (RigiScan/snap-gauge) is the objective gold standard for organic vs psychogenic erectile dysfunction. Psychogenic impotence retains nocturnal erections; organic impotence does not. Self-report and hormone levels alone are insufficient for forensic determination.
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The PC&PNDT Act 1994 (as amended) prohibits:
The Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC&PNDT) Act 1994 prohibits: (a) sex selection before or after conception, (b) sex determination and disclosure of foetal sex, (c) conducting PNDT for sex determination. Ultrasound for clinical indications remains permitted.
PC&PNDT Act 1994 covers: sex selection (pre-conception) + sex determination (prenatal). Violations: imprisonment up to 5 years + fine. Relevant to declining sex ratio (female foeticide). Doctors must maintain strict Form F records for every USG.
PC&PNDT prohibits sex determination and disclosure of foetal sex — not ultrasound procedures per se (clinically indicated USGs are permitted). Sterilisation without consent is a separate issue under personal rights law.
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A 38-year-old man is arrested after police find evidence of sexual gratification from exposure of his genitals to non-consenting strangers in public. This is best classified as:
Exhibitionism is the paraphilia characterised by sexual arousal from exposing genitals to unsuspecting/non-consenting strangers. Voyeurism = observing others (peeping tom). Frotteurism = rubbing against non-consenting persons.
DSM-5 paraphilic disorders relevant to forensic medicine: Exhibitionistic, Voyeuristic, Frotteuristic, Pedophilic, Sexual Sadism/Masochism, Fetishistic, Transvestic. The forensic issue is criminal responsibility (mental state) and recidivism risk assessment.
Exhibitionism (indecent exposure) = genital exposure to strangers for sexual arousal. Voyeurism = covertly watching. Frotteurism = rubbing/touching against non-consenting persons. Masochism = arousal from receiving pain/humiliation.
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Under BNS 2023, 'unnatural offences' (sodomy, bestiality) are covered under which section?
Post-Navtej Singh Johar v. UOI (SC 2018), consensual same-sex sexual acts between adults are no longer criminal. BNS 2023 has not reinstated IPC 377 for consensual adult acts. Non-consensual and bestiality acts remain criminal under relevant BNS provisions.
Post-Navtej Singh Johar 2018: consensual adult homosexual acts = legal. Non-consensual sodomy = covered under BNS rape/sexual assault sections. Forensic anal examination for sodomy: look for laceration, fissures, lax anal sphincter, presence of spermatozoa in rectal swab.
IPC 377 was read down by the Supreme Court in Navtej Singh Johar (2018) — consensual adult same-sex acts decriminalised. BNS 2023 retains provisions for non-consensual acts and acts against minors/animals. Forensic examination for sodomy (anal examination) may still be required in non-consensual cases.
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