NEW DELHI: Faced with claims by a man that he didn’t father a child for whom his estranged wife is seeking maintenance, Delhi High Court has ordered a DNA test of the child to determine his paternity. The man alleges the child was born out of an adulterous relationship.
Justice Vipin Sanghi has roped in AIIMS to conduct a paternity test on eight-year-old Anup (name changed) to decide if the father, Ravinder (name changed) is the biological father or not. Ravinder had moved HC after a lower court hearing the maintenance petition had rejected his demand for a DNA test on Anup.
“The parentage of the child can only be determined by a DNA test. The liability to pay maintenance under section 125 CrPC can be avoided by the petitioner with respect to this child only if it is established that he is not the biological son of the petitioner,” the judge observed while quashing the lower court’s decision. HC has asked the mother, Sonam (name changed) to ensure her child is present before the AIIMS medical superintendent on May 22 at 11am for the DNA test.
Ravinder had pressed for a DNA test before HC, claiming that Sonam had illicit relations with her brother-in-law and this child was born out of that affair. Wondering why should he be held liable for maintenance when he wasn’t the biological father, Ravinder also claimed he didn’t have physical relations with his wife ten months before Anup was born and therefore suspected her of committing adultery.
The marriage took place in September 2000 and in June, a year later, Anup was born. Alleging Sonam of having illicit relations, Ravinder walked out of the marriage, only to be slapped with a case of harassment for dowry in 2007 and a case of maintenance a year later. Sonam has demanded maintenance for Anup and her first child whom she had out of her first marriage.
Ravinder’s plea before the magistrate was dismissed after the lower court held that holding of a DNA test will not have any effect on the merits of the case as maintenance petition doesn’t differentiate between a legitimate child and an illegitimate one. But HC favoured Ravinder when he pointed out that his claim is that Anup isn’t his biological child.
