MP High Court Upholds Family Court Order Allowing Husband's Plea For DNA Test To Prove Wife's Adultery
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has upheld an order of the Family Court allowing a husband's plea for DNA test of a girl child, to back his adultery allegations against the wife.
The bench of Justice Vivek Jain observed;
"...respondent husband has pleaded that he is in Indian Army and was called in October, 2015 by the wife who is Constable in MP Police. Within four days he was informed that by the wife that she is pregnant and she has conceived a child which could not have been known to the wife within four days of the husband returning from his duty in army. It is further pleaded that the child was born within 8 months of October, 2015 and there is clear pleading of non-access at the time when the child was conceived...Therefore, in the considered opinion of this Court, it is a fit case where DNA test of the child should have been ordered by the Family Court and the Family Court has not erred in ordering DNA test of the child.".
The Court was dealing with wife's challenge to the family court on the ground that such a DNA test would infringe upon her right to privacy. It was also argued that the right of privacy, autonomy and identity of the child under the Convention on Child Rights must be respected.
The Court however noted that the divorce petition was filed on grounds of adultery and the husband sought DNA test not to repudiate the liability to maintain the child, but to prove the ground of adultery. In this backdrop it observed,
"In case where necessary pleadings are there and no declaration is sought regarding illegitimacy of the child and the issue only relates to adultery of the wife then in appropriate cases, DNA test can be ordered, and if there are sufficient pleadings of non-access."
Case Title: KP v GB [MP-5428 of 2023]