Nithyakalyani Narayanan. V
The Rajasthan High Court rejected an application put forth by a husband in a divorce petition, to bring on record a paternity test to prove that he is not the father of the child of his marriage. The Court remarked that a DNA Paternity test could be performed only in exceptional cases. The court held that “This Court thus finds that the requirement of the DNA Paternity Test can only be in the rarest of the rare and exceptional cases, while duly keeping in mind the best interest of the child as well as the law laid down by the Hon’ble Apex Court“.
The case involved an appeal of a family court’s decision to reject the husband’s request to change the divorce petition in light of the child’s paternity test. Not only had the husband list adultery as a ground for divorce but also the mother and the child were not given any privacy during the DNA test.
A single-judge bench of Justice Pushpendra Singh held that the DNA test violated a child’s rights, including those related to his property rights, right to live a dignified life, right to privacy, and right to feel secure in and content with receiving love and affection from both parents. Further, in order to have a DNA test, it is to be proven that the couple had no contact, but the parties were cohabiting at the time of the child’s birth and had access to each other.
The Court was forced to weigh the sanctity of childhood more heavily than the sanctity of marriage when making its decision and therefore rejected the husband’s petition. The single-judge bench stated that when compared to the child’s rights to dignity and parentage, the anguish of winning or losing a divorce battle among the disputing spouses is incredibly insignificant and therefore utmost priority is to be given to the mental and physical health of the child.
Name of the case: Deepak Soni v. Anamika (CW / 1015 / 2023)
Citation: 2023/RJJD/016587
Bench: Justice Pushpendra Singh
Click here to access the order.