Now Reading: SC allows paternity test of child in marital divorce dispute
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SC allows paternity test of child in marital divorce dispute
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a child born during marriage can be subjected to a paternity test in a matrimonial dispute where a husband has sought divorce on the ground of his wife's alleged unchastity. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Prasanna B Varale rejected the wife's objection, saying if she was loyal she should not oppose the test.
The court upheld orders of a Pune family court and the Bombay High Court directing a DNA test. The husband had submitted a private DNA test from a Hyderabad laboratory showing zero probability of him being the biological father. The high court had noted that without a court-directed DNA test, the husband would find it difficult to prove his allegation of unchastity.
The apex court agreed that the private test constituted sufficient prima facie material to order a compulsory test, and that the 'eminent need' parameter was satisfied given the nature of the allegation. The order paves the way for the child's court-directed paternity test.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The Supreme Court's ruling relaxes a long-standing evidentiary bar that protected marital children from contested paternity. Under Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act, a child born during wedlock is conclusively presumed to be the husband's child unless he can prove non-access. That nearly impossible standard often left men unable to contest paternity even with a private DNA report. This judgment clarifies that a private DNA test can now serve as prima facie material to compel a court-directed test, effectively lowering the threshold for reopening the presumption. The Pune husband had obtained a private test showing zero probability, the key fact that tipped the scales. Watch for trial courts to now demand clear, documented private test results before ordering a child's DNA test, the family court's next hearing will set the timeline for the compelled test.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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