Key Words : Kerala High Court, DNA Test, Justice A Badharudeen
The High Court ruled that the court can only order a DNA test when it is impossible to draw an inference from the evidence or when the dispute cannot be settled without one.
In the recent case of Sujith Kumar S v. Vinaya VS & Anr., the Kerala High Court emphasized that courts should not order DNA tests to establish the paternity of a child in every instance where the paternity is questioned.
DNA tests or other scientific tests can only be ordered in a very small number of deserving, exceptional circumstances in which they are absolutely necessary to settle the dispute, according to Justice A Badharudeen.
The Court stated that in other situations, the parties should be instructed to lead evidence to establish the child’s paternity.
The court may not order a DNA test unless it is impossible to draw a reasonable inference from the evidence or when it is necessary to resolve the dispute. Alternately, the High Court made it very apparent that DNA testing or any other scientific test is only necessary in exceptional and infrequent cases of merit.
In dismissing a man’s appeal against a family court’s decision to deny his request for a paternity test, the High Court expressed these observations.
The man (petitioner) denied being the biological father of his ex-wife’s child. The man’s wife objected to his argument, claiming that he was denying paternity merely to avoid having to pay child support. The Court ruled that just debating a child’s paternity was insufficient justification for ordering a DNA test. The Court further stated that there must be a specific denial of paternity.
Name : Pallavi Sethi intern under legal vidhiya.
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