The police cannot compel an accused to undergo unnecessary medical examination, as doing so amounts to violation of the right to privacy of the individual, the Bombay high court (HC) held last week, while hearing a petition filed by a 31-year-old civic engineer, who was detained illegally for two days and subjected to potency and psychiatric tests.
Based on a complaint of dowry harassment and cruelty filed by his wife, the Ambad police picked up the man from his residence in Airoli on April 12, 2014. He was taken to Ambad in a private car and was subjected to a medical examination at Aurangabad. A local court released him on bail on April 14, 2014.
“The medical tests the petitioner was subjected to were unnecessary and not permitted under the law. It was an unlawful intrusion of the right of privacy of the petitioner and disrespect to his dignity,” said the division bench of justice TV Nalavade and justice Indira Jain, directing the state government to pay a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the engineer.
