Husband To Be Legal Father Of Child Born From Wife's Adultery, SC Rules

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court recently ruled that a husband is presumed to be the legal father of a child born during a marriage, even if the wife claims the child was born from an adulterous relationship.

The Court emphasized that under Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act, there is a strong presumption of legitimacy, which can only be challenged by proving that the spouses did not have access to each other at the time of conception.

The ruling came in an appeal from Kerala, where a woman sought to have a man’s name listed as the father of her child, born in 2001, after her divorce in 2006. The municipal authorities had refused her request, and both the Munsiff Court and Kerala High Court dismissed her claim, upholding the presumption of legitimacy. They prioritized the child’s right to maintenance from the legal father over the possibility of a biological father’s claim.

The appellant argued that once legitimacy is established, maintenance should be sought from the legal father, not an alleged biological father. The Supreme Court reviewed international legal practices, noting that countries like the UK, US, and Malaysia also support a strong presumption of legitimacy and only allow DNA tests in exceptional cases.

Ultimately, the Supreme Court ruled that the family court did not have jurisdiction in the case, declaring the maintenance proceedings against the appellant invalid. It upheld the presumption that the child is the legitimate son of his mother's ex-husband and quashed the DNA test order.

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