Bengaluru: Swami Nithyananda was tested for among other things, ‘Unnatural Sex’!
It’s a measure of relief for him and his followers, that the tests revealed that here were no clinical signs to suggest that the person was involved in unnatural sexual acts according to sources.
‘Unnatural sexual acts’ are classified as criminal acts under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. However, the section does not describe what unnatural sex is, but is usually used for cases of sodomy.
In another, case, Raghaveshwara Bharati swami has challenged the constitutional validity of the Criminal Procedure Code Sections 53 and 53(A) which permits such medical examinations (the judgment in this case is pending).
The Cr.PC defines medical examination that “shall include the examination of blood, blood stains, semen, swabs in case of sexual offences, sputum and sweat, hair samples and finger nail clippings by the use of modern and scientific techniques including DNA profiling and such other tests which the registered medical practitioner thinks necessary in a particular case.” The clause “any such other tests” which doctors deem fit is the cause for worry for people accused of sexual assaults.
Not potency alone…
While the term `potency test’ has been used in general terms for medical tests, it is more than just determining if the person accused of rape is physically capable of the act. Among the tests conducted on Nithyananda include a penile Doppler study which checks if he has erectile dysfunction. If it is positive, it rules out the person’s capacity to commit rape using his sexual organ. The tests could be done only in a flaccid state as “he refused consent for Penile Doppler study.”
The second test was of his testosterone levels which were found to be low. The third test was for HIV which was found negative. The fourth test was for three strains of herpes, which the Nithyananda ashram had alleged the woman who alleged the rape had. Nithyananda’s results on that count were found negative. Blood tests found that he did not have anaemia and blood cell components were produced normally. The report also says, “The tests done in the blood do not point towards any sexually transmitted disease.”
