Current Affairs — 15 April 2026

📖 Explanation

Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act lays down that a child born during the continuance of a valid marriage, or within 280 days after its dissolution, is presumed to be the legitimate child of the husband, unless it is proved that the parties had no access to each other at the time of conception. This is a strong presumption that courts have held cannot be displaced by mere suspicion. Courts therefore treat this section as a significant safeguard against casually labelling a child illegitimate, which is why they are cautious about ordering DNA tests in paternity disputes.

📖 Explanation

In Justice K S Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), a nine-judge constitutional bench unanimously held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right protected under Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty. This verdict is pivotal for topics involving bodily autonomy because a court-ordered DNA test requires a person to provide a biological sample, directly engaging the privacy right. However, the Supreme Court has clarified that this right is not absolute and must be weighed against competing interests such as an individual's right to know his or her biological parentage, as seen in the 2026 paternity case.