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Madhya Pradesh High Court Upholds DNA Test Order in Adultery Divorce Case

The bench limited the testing to probing the wife's alleged adultery rather than questioning the child's legitimacy.

Overview

  • Justice Vivek Jain dismissed the wife's petition and affirmed the family court's August 18, 2022 order directing a DNA test of the minor child.
  • The court relied on specific pleadings of non-access and timing inconsistencies, citing the husband's October 2015 return, a pregnancy disclosure within four days, and a birth eight months later.
  • The husband, an Indian Army personnel, sought the test solely to substantiate adultery allegations and not to evade maintenance obligations for the child.
  • The order notes that refusal to provide samples may permit an adverse presumption under Section 114(h) of the Indian Evidence Act and corresponding provisions of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
  • The case forms the couple's third divorce proceeding after an aborted mutual-consent attempt, with the current petition pending since 2021.