No DNA test on child at father’s will, says Supreme Court

The newborn child of a couple going through a divorce won’t be made to made to undergo a paternity test, the Supreme Court has said.

In a landmark judgment that aims to protect the honour of a child and his mother, the Supreme Court said, “The presumption of legitimacy is a presumption of law. When a child is born out of wedlock, there is a presumption in favour of his legitimacy and the presumption largely depends on the presumed fact that the parties to a marriage have necessary access to each other when a divorce petition is filed.’’

“More so when the husband hasn’t said in the lawsuit that the wife’s child was a consequence of her illicit relationship with another person,’’ a bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and RM Lodha said while allowing the appeal filed by the estranged wife that her child shouldn’t be subjected to a DNA test. The Madhya Pradesh high court had accepted husband Bharatram’s petition seeking the paternity test of a child born while the divorce was still being fought in court. The high court, however, felt  “Since the appellant (husband) has made it a          prestige issue and it appears that in case the DNA test shows that the son of the respondent (his wife) is from the appellant (him) then the  family can be re-united.’’

The court also said that “his wife’s son” was begotten from him, which “cannot be disputed on the basis of mere desire of the husband to deny paternity”.

Quashing the judgment, the apex court said there won’t be a DNA test on the child. “In the absence of any reason except on the ground that the husband  had made a prestige issue about the paternity of the child, nothing could be found from the HC order  which could invite the court to allow such application (by the husband),’’ the judges added.