Paternity of Child -- DNA Test -- It cannot rebut presumption of Paternity if Spouses Had ‘Access’ to Each Other During Marriage
The conclusive presumption of legitimacy under Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, remains irrebuttable where the husband and wife had access to each other at the time of conception, even if a DNA test suggests otherwise. "Access" denotes the possibility of an opportunity for marital relations, and non-access means impossibility, not merely inability. A DNA test to determine paternity can be ordered only where there exists a strong prima facie case and an eminent need, and not as a matter of routine. The law protects social parentage over biological parentage, and a child born during subsistence of a valid marriage cannot be casually illegitimised through DNA profiling-- Evidence Act, S.112
