‘DNA Test’ as Proof of Parentage: Imperative Need of Reconciliation
Criminal Law Journal, pp. 76-84, 2015
9 Pages Posted: 10 Sep 2015
Date Written: August 31, 2015
Abstract
Enacted in the colonial era Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 nonetheless continues to govern the legal position relating to parentage and legitimacy of child born out of deadlock. The said statutory provision prescribes a “conclusive proof” of parentage of a child born out of a wedlock subject to an exception that “it can be shown that the parties to the marriage had no access to each other at any time when he could have been begotten”. This provision has set-to-naught numerous controversies and claims regarding the parentage and legitimacy of children. However, the provision now itself suffers an existential crisis on account of irreconcilable judicial opinion on the context of DNA test as a potent indicator of the parentage. The Supreme Court in the last decade, since the continuous uprising of DNA test as a reliable scientific basis to this effect, has pronounced several decisions on the subject albeit contradictory ones. This article examine the legal theory underlying the provision and the varying judicial opinion on the subject to conclude by impressing upon imperative need of reconciliation towards settling the legal position.
Keywords: DNA Test, Law of Evidence, Paternity Test, Conclusive Proof
JEL Classification: K14, K19, K49
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation