In rejecting a woman's request for support for her daughter, the Supreme Court ruled today that a man cannot be forced to pay maintenance for a kid who is not biologically his. This will apply even if the child is born after the man marries her mother, according to the panel of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Koteshwar Singh. However, it must be demonstrated that the guy is not the child's father in order for this law to be applicable.
After the Delhi High Court rejected her appeal, the woman went to the highest court.
2016 saw the couple's marriage. However, after disagreements, the lady used the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005 to request temporary maintenance for both herself and the child.The Magistrate allowed the husband's request for a DNA test to establish the child's paternity during the proceedings. The mother did not dispute the report's conclusion that the man was not the child's biological father.
The trial court then declined to provide the child with maintenance. The high court upheld the ruling.
The court took into consideration Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (now Section 116 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam), which states that until it is demonstrated that the husband and wife were estranged, a child born during the continuation of a marriage is presumed to be legal.The court noted that orders for performing DNA tests should be issued with great caution, citing its prior rulings in cases like "Aparna Ajinkya Firodia v. Ajinkya Arun Firodia" (2023) and others.
However, in this particular case, the mother had not even contested the results of the DNA test. In 2014, the Supreme Court ruled that in cases where scientific evidence (DNA) is clear-cut, it will take precedence over legal presumptions.
Additionally, the Supreme Court upheld that it was appropriate in this situation to deny the child support.However, with the child's best interests in mind, the court ordered the Delhi Government's Department of Women and Child Development to evaluate the child's condition, particularly with regard to her health, education, and nutrition, and to make sure that help is given as needed.