The case had all the ingredients of a Bollywood thriller, a doctor in the alleged rape of his hospital nurse, blackmail, artificial insemination and surrogacy claims.
The jigsaw puzzle unravelled in the Supreme Court on Thursday. The top court stayed a paternity test on the doctor.
A nurse from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh had claimed that her baby’s father was not her husband, but a doctor and his son, who allegedly raped her. She was employed in the nursing home of Dr Pradip Gupta and his son, and had filed criminal lawsuits against them.
Gupta had donated his sperms to a childless man, Dilawar Singh, who wanted a baby through artificial insemination and surrogacy. Gupta claimed he voluntarily donated his sperms after Singh hired the nurse’s womb for the baby.
Gupta said the nurse, in connivance with certain anti-social elements, filed rape cases against him and his son to extract money. The thrice-married nurse had accused the doctor of trying to abort the child with the help of his legally married wife, Dr Seema.
As police exonerated the doctor of allegations of section 376D (rape in a hospital) and 313 (causing miscarriage) on August 20, 2007, the nurse approached the judicial magistrate. The magistrate directed the police to put Dr Gupta and his son to DNA test to determine the child’s paternity.
Dr Gupta then moved the Allahabad high court, seeking a stay on the test. He referred to a complaint filed by Dilawar Singh in the magistrate’s court. Singh had accused the nurse of cheating him by refusing to hand over the surrogate child after striking a deal for one lakh rupees. The high court dismissed Dr Gupta’s plea.
In his appeal before the Supreme Court a fortnight ago, Dr Gupta claimed no DNA test could be conducted against him or the alleged illegitimate child.
Dr Gupta’s counsel A Banerjee said the Supreme Court judgment in (Goutam Kundu vs State of West Bengal) in 1993 ruled that “DNA test cannot be done for determination of paternity of the child as it may make the future of the child dark”.
Dr Gupta and his son heaved a sigh of relief when a bench of justices DK Jain and Tirath Singh Thakur stayed the magistrate’s order to face the DNA test.
Dr Gupta’s appeal said the DNA test was unnecessary and illegal as it would only lead to social stigma for the child.
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