Section 164A CrPC: Medical Examination of Rape Victim
Section 164A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 prescribed the procedure for medical examination of a woman where an offence of rape or attempt to commit rape was under investigation. The provision addressed consent, the time for sending the woman for examination, the contents of the medical report, DNA-related material and forwarding of the report to the investigating officer and Magistrate.
What Is Section 164A of the CrPC?
Section 164A was inserted into the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 by the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2005 and came into force on 23 June 2006. It laid down a statutory procedure for the medical examination of the woman with whom rape or an attempt to commit rape was alleged during the investigation of the offence.
The section required the examination to be carried out by the prescribed registered medical practitioner and expressly required the consent of the woman or of a person legally competent to give consent on her behalf.
Section 164A(1) CrPC - Medical Examination and 24-Hour Requirement
Where, during investigation of an offence of committing rape or attempting to commit rape, it is proposed to have the woman medically examined, the examination shall be conducted by a registered medical practitioner employed in a hospital run by the Government or a local authority. In the absence of such a practitioner, it may be conducted by any other registered medical practitioner.
The examination requires the consent of the woman or of a person competent to give consent on her behalf. The woman is to be sent to the registered medical practitioner within twenty-four hours from the time information relating to the commission of the offence is received.
The twenty-four-hour provision concerns sending the woman to the medical practitioner. Sub-section (2) separately requires the practitioner to conduct the examination without delay.
Section 164A(2) to (5) - Medical Examination Report
The registered medical practitioner must examine the woman without delay and prepare a report. Under Section 164A(2), the report must contain:
- the name and address of the woman and of the person by whom she was brought;
- the age of the woman;
- a description of material taken from the person of the woman for DNA profiling;
- marks of injury, if any, on the person of the woman;
- the general mental condition of the woman; and
- other material particulars in reasonable detail.
Reasons for conclusions - Section 164A(3)
The report must state precisely the reasons for each conclusion reached by the registered medical practitioner.
Recording consent - Section 164A(4)
The report must specifically record that consent to the examination was obtained from the woman or from the person competent to give consent on her behalf.
Time of examination - Section 164A(5)
The exact time when the examination commenced and the exact time when it was completed must also be recorded in the report.
Consent Is Mandatory Under Section 164A(7)
Section 164A(7) expressly provided that nothing in the section made lawful any examination conducted without the consent of the woman or of a person competent to give such consent on her behalf.
Section 164A(6) - Forwarding the Medical Report
The registered medical practitioner was required, without delay, to forward the medical examination report to the investigating officer. The investigating officer was then required to forward it to the Magistrate referred to in Section 173 CrPC as part of the documents referred to in Section 173(5)(a).
Section 173 CrPC dealt with the report of the police officer on completion of investigation and the documents connected with the police report. The medical report under Section 164A therefore formed part of the investigation record to be forwarded in accordance with that statutory procedure.
Explanation to Section 164A - Relevant Definitions
The Explanation to Section 164A provided that the expressions "examination" and "registered medical practitioner" have the same meanings as assigned to them in Section 53 CrPC.
For this purpose, the statutory definition of examination under Section 53 included examination of blood, blood stains, semen, swabs in cases of sexual offences, sputum and sweat, hair samples and fingernail clippings by modern and scientific techniques including DNA profiling, along with such other tests as the registered medical practitioner considered necessary in the particular case.
The expression registered medical practitioner was linked by Section 53 to the applicable statutory medical qualification and registration requirements.
Chhattisgarh State Amendment
The original page records the Chhattisgarh amendment to Section 164A. Except in the Explanation clause, where the words "registered medical practitioner" occur for the first time, the words "female registered medical practitioner" are substituted.
Reference: Chhattisgarh Act 25 of 2015, Section 10.
Legislative History
Section 164A was inserted by Section 17 of Act 25 of 2005 and came into force on 23 June 2006. The provision remained part of the CrPC framework governing the medical examination of a rape victim before commencement of the BNSS.