Instruct medical officers to give opinion in sexual assault certificate after medical examination of minor victims: HC tells Govt.

Noticing several instances of incomplete “sexual assault certificates” issued by doctors of government hospitals in cases of sexual assault on minor girls in the State, the High Court of Karnataka has directed the Principal Secretary, Health Department, to issue a circular instructing medical officers to give their opinion indicating whether victims were subjected to sexual act or not.

The doctors, who conduct the medical examination, will have to give a report stating whether victims are subjected to sexual act or not in order to bring the culprits within the ambit of law, the court said.

Justice H.P. Sandesh issued the directions while dealing with two separate petitions in which two persons, one from Davangere and another from Bengaluru, are accused of sexually assaulting minors in separate cases.

The court pointed out in its order that the two doctors, who were summoned to explain why they had not given opinion on whether victims were subjected to sexual act or not, had no proper reason to offer on keeping the column in the ‘sexual assault certificate, meant for giving the opinion of the doctors who conduct medical examination of victims, empty.

Though both the doctors had described the medical conditions of the victims, they had not given their opinion, the court noted.

When there is a specific column in the certificate to produce the finding, not giving any opinion “is nothing but a negligence on the part of the doctor, who conducted the medical examination,” the court said while pointing out that the very purpose of subjecting the victim to medical examination is defeated in the absence of opinion.

In one case, the court directed the Government to initiate action against one medical officer for his callousness in not giving the opinion based in medical examination of a girl of 16 years of age. In another case, the medical officer had already left the Government service.