The Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld the order of a Family Court directing a DNA test of a child born during a marriage in a divorce petition in which the husband alleged that the wife had engaged in adultery and questioned the child’s paternity. The husband had filed a divorce suit on grounds including the wife’s purported extramarital relationship, asserting that the child born to the marriage could not be his biological offspring due to the timing and circumstances surrounding conception. He sought a declaration that the child was not his biological issue, relying primarily on the wife’s alleged conduct and circumstantial factors.
In the proceedings, the Family Court had directed a DNA test of the child and the parties before advancing further on issues of custody, maintenance and ancillary reliefs. The wife challenged this direction in the High Court, contending that ordering a DNA test in the context of a divorce petition was intrusive and not permissible, particularly on the basis of allegations alone. In opposing the petition, the husband maintained that paternity was a central issue raised in his pleadings and that scientific verification through a DNA test was necessary to determine the child’s biological parentage and to adjudicate the disputes raised in the divorce proceedings effectively.
The High Court analysed the legal principles governing DNA tests and the determination of biological parentage. It noted that DNA profiling is a recognised scientific method for establishing biological relationships with a high degree of accuracy, and that courts have the authority to direct such tests where paternity is genuinely in dispute and the results are material to the resolution of substantive issues in the case. The bench emphasised that while allegations of adultery alone do not automatically justify intrusive measures, a bona fide dispute regarding parentage raised in the pleadings and supported by factual circumstances can warrant a DNA test to ascertain truth and ensure that judicial determinations rest on reliable evidence rather than conjecture.
In its reasoning, the High Court also observed that the welfare of the child remains a paramount consideration. Directing a DNA test does not, in itself, harm the child; instead, it assists in clarifying biological relationships which may have significant implications for custody, guardianship, support obligations and the child’s legal status. The court noted that scientific evidence obtained through DNA profiling may aid the trial court in making informed and just decisions on issues concerning the child that are inevitably intertwined with the matrimonial disputes.
The court further rejected submissions that the DNA test direction was arbitrary or outside the jurisdiction of the Family Court. It held that judicial authority encompasses the power to order relevant scientific tests when such tests are necessary to resolve contested questions of fact central to the litigation. The High Court’s decision underscored that if a party raises a plea questioning biological paternity, and if the facts suggest that such a question is not frivolous, a DNA test is a legitimate and appropriate tool for fact-finding.
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the wife’s challenge to the DNA test order. It upheld the Family Court’s direction for DNA profiling, thereby allowing the paternity issue to be scientifically examined and resolved as part of the ongoing divorce proceedings. The judgment affirms the principle that scientific methods, including DNA testing, have a valuable role in family law disputes where questions of biological relationships are legitimately in controversy and require objective determination to secure justice for all parties, including the child.
The High Court’s ruling ensures that factual disputes relating to parentage, when raised in matrimonial litigation, can be addressed through appropriate scientific inquiry, and confirms that courts have the authority to direct DNA tests in such contexts as part of their fact-finding mandate.
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