Section 164A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which was inserted by the 2005 Amendment has made special provisions for medical examination of the victims of rape.
It is provided that during the investigation of a rape or an attempt to commit rape, it is proposed to get the female victim examined by a medical expert, such examination should be conducted by a registered medical practitioner employed in a Government hospital or a local authority, and in the absence of such a practitioner, by any other registered medical practitioner.
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Such examination should be with the consent of the victim or of a person competent to give such consent on her behalf. It is also provided that she must be sent to the registered medical practitioner within twenty-four hours from the time of receiving the information relating to the commissions of such offence.
After examination, the registered medical practitioner must make a report covering the following particulars, namely,
(i) The name and address of the woman and of the person by whom she was brought;
(ii) The age of the woman;
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(iii) The description of material taken from the person of the woman for DNA profiling;
(iv) Marks of injury, if any, on the person of the woman;
(v) The general mental condition of the woman; and
(vi) Other material particulars in reasonable details.
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The registered medical practitioner must, without any delay, forward this report to the investigation officer, who in turn must forward it to the Magistrate, as part of the documents referred to in S. 173 of the Code.