SC: Must balance privacy, right to know parentage

If it’s proven that the married couple had access to each other at the time of the child’s conception, the child is deemed legitimate, thereby establishing the paternity of the couple, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

Deciding a two-decade-old case in which a 23-year-old man from Kerala claimed that his birth was the result of his mother’s extramarital affair and wanted his paternity proved through a DNA test, the top court said there was a need to balance the son’s right to know his true parentage with the right to privacy of the man he claimed to be his biological father.

Rejecting his claim, a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant said, “Legitimacy determines paternity under Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, until the presumption is successfully rebutted by proving ‘non-access’.”

According to Section 112, “The fact that any person was born during the continuance of a valid marriage shall be conclusive proof that he is the legitimate son.”