Allahabad High Court Rules DNA Tests Cannot Be Routinely Ordered in Paternity Disputes

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that DNA tests for determining a child's paternity cannot be routinely ordered simply because one party challenges parentage during legal proceedings.

In Prayagraj, Justice Chawan Prakash dismissed a petition filed by Ramraj Patel who had claimed that the female child born to his wife in December 2012 was not his biological daughter, citing that his wife had been living at her parental home since May 2011.

The petitioner had contested the rejection order issued by the Additional Sessions Judge of Varanasi, who had previously denied his appeal against the Special Chief Judicial Magistrate's refusal to order a DNA test.

According to court documents, Patel married the woman in April 2008, but she allegedly stayed at the matrimonial home for merely one week. The petitioner argued that his wife, who was a graduate and taught at an Inter College, refused to live with him because he was an "illiterate villager."

In the November 21 order, the court clarified that DNA testing can only be mandated in specific circumstances where there is proven "no chance for cohabitation" between the parties during the relevant period.