Sexual Offences and Abortion Practice Questions

Q: Punishment for rape is mandated under which section of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)?

376. **Explanation:** In Forensic Medicine, it is crucial to distinguish between the **definition** of a crime and the **punishment** prescribed for it under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). * **Correct Answer: B (Section 376 IPC):** This section specifies the **punishment** for rape. Following the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (Nirbhaya Act), the minimum punishment is rigorous imprisonment for 10 years, which may extend to life imprisonment and a fine. * **Option A (Section 375 IPC):** This section **defines** the offense of rape. It outlines the specific acts (penetration of penis, or any object/body part into the vagina, urethra, or anus, or oral sex without consent) that constitute rape. * **Option C (Section 312 IPC):** This pertains to causing **miscarriage** (criminal abortion) with the woman's consent. If done without consent, it falls under Section 313. (Note: 312A is not a standard IPC section; 312 is the primary reference). * **Option D (Section 304A IPC):** This deals with causing death by **negligence**. In a medical context, this is the section under which doctors are most commonly prosecuted for "Medical Negligence" resulting in the death of a patient. **High-Yield Clinical Pearls for NEET-PG:** * **Section 376A:** Punishment for causing death or persistent vegetative state of the victim. * **Section 376D:** Deals with **Gang Rape**. * **Age of Consent:** In India, the age of consent for sexual activity is **18 years**. Any sexual act with a girl below 18, even with consent, is considered rape. * **Medical Examination:** Under **Section 53A CrPC**, a person accused of rape must be examined by a registered medical practitioner. The victim is examined under **Section 164A CrPC**.

Q: Achieving sexual gratification by seeing the private parts of the opposite sex is a characteristic feature of which paraphilia?

Voyeurism. **Explanation:** **Voyeurism** (Option C) is a paraphilia characterized by achieving sexual arousal and gratification by observing unsuspecting individuals who are naked, disrobing, or engaging in sexual activity. In forensic psychiatry, it is often referred to as "Peeping Tom" behavior. The key element is the act of looking (often from a hidden vantage point) at the private parts or intimate acts of others without their consent. **Analysis of Incorrect Options:** * **Uranism (Option A):** An archaic term for male homosexuality. It does not refer to a specific paraphilic behavior involving observation. * **Troilism (Option B):** Also known as "triolism," this refers to sexual activity involving three people (a ménage à trois). It can also describe a situation where an individual derives pleasure from watching their partner engage in sexual acts with a third person. * **Undinism (Option C):** Also known as urophilia, this is a paraphilia where sexual excitement is associated with urine or the act of urination. **High-Yield Clinical Pearls for NEET-PG:** * **Exhibitionism:** The opposite of voyeurism; achieving gratification by exposing one's genitals to unsuspecting strangers (Indecent Exposure). * **Frotteurism:** Achieving sexual pleasure by rubbing one's pelvic area or genitals against a non-consenting person, usually in crowded places. * **Sadism vs. Masochism:** Sadism is deriving pleasure from inflicting pain; Masochism is deriving pleasure from receiving pain. * **Bestiality (Zooerasty):** Sexual intercourse with animals (punishable under Section 377 IPC as an unnatural offence).

Q: What is the generally accepted gestational age for fetal viability?

28 weeks. **Explanation:** **Viability** refers to the stage of fetal development at which the fetus is capable of maintaining an independent extra-uterine existence. In the context of Forensic Medicine and the Indian legal system, **28 weeks (7 lunar months)** is the generally accepted gestational age for fetal viability. * **Why Option B is Correct:** At 28 weeks, the fetus typically weighs approximately 1000–1100 grams and measures about 35 cm. At this stage, the lungs have developed surfactant and the pulmonary vascular bed is sufficiently mature to allow for gas exchange, making survival outside the womb possible with standard medical care. * **Why Options A, C, and D are Incorrect:** * **25 weeks:** While modern Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) can sometimes support life at 24–25 weeks, this is considered "extreme prematurity" and is not the standard legal or forensic benchmark for general viability in India. * **30 and 32 weeks:** These represent advanced stages of prematurity where the prognosis is significantly better, but they occur well after the initial threshold of viability has been crossed. **High-Yield NEET-PG Pearls:** 1. **MTP Act (India):** The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, allows for abortion up to **24 weeks** for specific categories of women, but there is no upper age limit in cases of substantial fetal abnormalities (decided by a Medical Board). 2. **Hess’s Rule:** Used to calculate the age of the fetus. For the first 5 months: $\text{Length (cm)} = \sqrt{\text{Age in months}}$. For the last 5 months: $\text{Length (cm)} = \text{Age in months} \times 5$. 3. **Legal Significance:** A viable fetus is considered a "person" in certain legal contexts; causing the death of a quickened/viable fetus can attract charges under Section 312-316 of the IPC.

Q: Sodomy is punishable under which section of the Indian Penal Code?

Section 377 IPC. **Explanation:** **Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)** defines "Unnatural Offences." It states that whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman, or animal shall be punished. In forensic medicine, **Sodomy** (anal intercourse between two males or a male and a female) falls under this section. *Note on Legal Status:* While the Supreme Court of India (Navtej Singh Johar vs. Union of India, 2018) decriminalized consensual homosexual acts between adults, Section 377 remains on the statute books to punish non-consensual acts and bestiality. **Analysis of Incorrect Options:** * **Section 354 IPC:** Deals with assault or criminal force to a woman with the intent to **outrage her modesty**. * **Section 375 IPC:** Defines **Rape**. It specifically outlines the criteria for sexual assault against a woman. * **Section 378 IPC:** Pertains to **Theft**, which is a property-related offence and entirely unrelated to sexual offences. **Clinical Pearls for NEET-PG:** * **Active Agent vs. Passive Agent:** In sodomy, the active agent is the "Pederast" and the passive agent is the "Catamite." * **Signs of Chronic Sodomy:** Look for the **"Funnel-shaped anus"** (due to loss of perianal fat), patulous anus, loss of sphincter tone, and "reflex anal dilatation" (Geoghegan's sign). * **Acute Findings:** Fissures, abrasions, and the presence of spermatozoa/acid phosphatase in anal swabs. * **Tribadism:** Also known as "Lesbianism," it is not punishable under Section 377 as it does not involve "penetration."

Q: Fecundation ab extra means:

Insemination without penetration of the vagina by the penis. **Explanation:** **Fecundation ab extra** (literally meaning "fertilization from without") is a significant concept in forensic medicine and gynecology. It refers to the occurrence of conception and pregnancy following the deposition of semen on the vulva or the external genitalia, **without actual penetration** of the vagina by the penis. 1. **Why Option C is Correct:** The underlying medical concept is that motile spermatozoa can travel from the external labia, through the hymen (even if intact), and into the vaginal canal, eventually reaching the fallopian tubes to fertilize an ovum. This is forensically important because it proves that a woman can be pregnant while still being a *virgo intacta* (having an intact hymen). 2. **Why Other Options are Incorrect:** * **Option A (Atavism):** This refers to the reappearance of a genetic trait after several generations (characteristics of grandparents appearing in grandchildren). * **Option B (Posthumous Child):** A child born after the legal or biological death of the father is termed a posthumous child. * **Option D (Incest):** Sexual intercourse between individuals who are closely related by blood (within prohibited degrees of relationship) is defined as incest. **High-Yield Clinical Pearls for NEET-PG:** * **Superfecundation:** Fertilization of two different ova released in the same menstrual cycle by two separate acts of intercourse (potentially by different fathers). * **Superfetation:** Fertilization of a second ovum when a fetus is already present in the uterus (extremely rare in humans). * **Precocity:** Premature development of sexual characteristics (before age 8 in girls, 9 in boys). * **Forensic Significance:** Fecundation ab extra is a common defense in cases where pregnancy is present but the woman claims no penetration occurred, or in cases of alleged rape where the hymen is found to be intact.

Q: A 35-year-old man, who presents dressed in women's clothing, reports deriving sexual pleasure from this act. What is the diagnosis?

Eonism. **Explanation:** The correct diagnosis is **Eonism**, also known as **Transvestism** or cross-dressing. This is a paraphilic disorder where an individual (typically male) derives sexual arousal or pleasure from wearing clothes of the opposite sex. The term "Eonism" is derived from the Chevalier d'Éon, a famous 18th-century French diplomat who lived the latter half of his life as a woman. **Analysis of Options:** * **A. Eonism (Correct):** As described, it involves the act of cross-dressing for sexual gratification. It is important to distinguish this from gender dysphoria; in Eonism, the primary motivation is often fetishistic or sexual pleasure. * **B. Ipsation:** This is a medical synonym for **masturbation** (self-stimulation for sexual pleasure). It does not involve cross-dressing. * **C. Peeping Tom:** Also known as **Voyeurism**, this refers to deriving sexual pleasure from secretly observing others while they are undressed, naked, or engaged in sexual activity. * **D. Mixoscopia:** This is a form of voyeurism where the individual derives pleasure specifically from **watching others engage in sexual intercourse**. **High-Yield Clinical Pearls for NEET-PG:** * **Frotteurism:** Achieving sexual pleasure by rubbing one’s pelvic area against a non-consenting person in a crowded place. * **Sadism vs. Masochism:** Sadism is deriving pleasure from inflicting pain; Masochism is deriving pleasure from receiving pain. * **Bestiality (Zooerasty):** Sexual intercourse with animals. * **Necrophilia:** Sexual attraction to or intercourse with a corpse. * **Exhibitionism:** Deliberate exposure of genitals to unsuspecting strangers for sexual excitement (often referred to as "Indecent Exposure").

Question 1

Punishment for rape is mandated under which section of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)?

Accepted Answer

376

Answer

375

Answer

312A

Answer

304A

Question 2

Achieving sexual gratification by seeing the private parts of the opposite sex is a characteristic feature of which paraphilia?

Accepted Answer

Voyeurism

Answer

Uranism

Answer

Troilism

Answer

Undinism

Question 3

What is the generally accepted gestational age for fetal viability?

Accepted Answer

28 weeks

Answer

25 weeks

Answer

30 weeks

Answer

32 weeks

Question 4

Impotence is not a feature of which of the following conditions?

Accepted Answer

Bilateral castration after puberty

Answer

Diphallia (Double penis)

Answer

Hypospadias

Answer

Penile amputation

Question 5

Sodomy is punishable under which section of the Indian Penal Code?

Accepted Answer

Section 377 IPC

Answer

Section 354 IPC

Answer

Section 375 IPC

Answer

Section 378 IPC

Question 6

What is the definition of buggery?

Accepted Answer

Anal intercourse between a man and a woman

Answer

Anal intercourse between a man and an animal

Answer

Sexual intercourse between two women

Answer

The passive victim of anal intercourse

Question 7

Fecundation ab extra means:

Accepted Answer

Insemination without penetration of the vagina by the penis

Answer

Child having the characteristic of grandparents

Answer

Birth of a child after the death of the father

Answer

Sexual intercourse with blood relations

Question 8

Impotence may be pleaded as a ground for defense in males in all the following conditions except?

Accepted Answer

Rape

Answer

Divorce

Answer

Adultery

Answer

Unnatural sexual offense

Question 9

A 35-year-old man, who presents dressed in women's clothing, reports deriving sexual pleasure from this act. What is the diagnosis?

Accepted Answer

Eonism

Answer

Ipsation

Answer

Peeping tom

Answer

Mixoscopia

Question 10

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act does not protect the act of termination of pregnancy beyond which gestational limit?

Accepted Answer

20 weeks

Answer

24 weeks

Answer

28 weeks

Answer

30 weeks

Sexual Offences and Abortion — MCQs

Sexual Offences and Abortion — MCQs

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