Ranchi, Jun 9 The Jharkhand High Court has directed police to complete the preliminary probe into rape cases within 15 days and final investigation within two months from the date of lodging of the FIR.
Hearing a PIL seeking the issuance of guidelines to the government to deal with rape cases, the court on Monday directed the government to ensure the education of children born out of rape incidents and provide scholarships to the meritorious.
In the 55-page judgment, High Court Chief Justice M S Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar said that the victim's statement must be recorded by a woman police officer not below the rank of a sub-inspector.
It has also prohibited the two-finger test of rape victims.
The high court bench said the curriculum of medical schools needs to be reviewed in ascertaining sexual assault, other than the two-finger test, which has also been deprecated by the Supreme Court.
The court directed the government to ensure that the Universal Emergency Line number 181 is operationalised to specifically deal with cases of victims of sexual assault and violence.
Calls made to the emergency line should be dealt with immediately, it said and also directed the government to make provisions for the rehabilitation of victims and their families.
The high court said the government must ensure the rehabilitation of rape survivors and provide them with counselling facilities.
In a situation where a victim and her family would want to shift from one place to another, the government must ensure that adequate arrangements are made, the bench said.
It also directed the media, police, medical agencies and trial courts to ensure that the victim's identity is not disclosed and warned of penal action if the directive is not followed.
