Right to privacy is intrinsic to life and personal liberty and is inherently protected under Article 21 of the constitution. Explain. In this reference discuss the law relating to D.N.A. testing of child in the womb to establish its paternity.
Approach · directive: “explain / discuss”
What it asks · Explain privacy as part of Article 21 after Puttaswamy, then apply it to DNA testing of an unborn child for paternity — presumption of legitimacy, court power, consent and the woman's bodily autonomy.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Explain: how the right to privacy is intrinsic to life and personal liberty under Article 21 — Puttaswamy, its dimensions and its limits
- Discuss the law on DNA testing of a child in the womb to establish paternity: presumption of legitimacy, the court's power, consent and bodily autonomy, and safeguards
Open with · A nine-judge bench in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) held privacy to be intrinsic to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and to the freedoms in Part III.
Cover
- Dimensions: bodily integrity, informational privacy and decisional autonomy — including reproductive choice (Suchita Srivastava, 2009).
- Limits: any intrusion must pass legality, a legitimate aim and proportionality, as laid down in Puttaswamy.
- Presumption: birth during a valid marriage is conclusive proof of legitimacy unless non-access is shown — Section 112 Evidence Act, now Section 116 BSA.
- Courts: DNA tests cannot be ordered routinely; only on a strong prima facie case and 'eminent need' (Goutam Kundu 1993; Bhabani Prasad Jena 2010).
- Foetus: prenatal DNA sampling is invasive and risky; the woman's consent and bodily autonomy are central, so courts rarely compel it.
- In rape-related pregnancies, courts usually direct preservation of foetal tissue after lawful termination for DNA evidence, rather than testing in the womb.
- Safeguards: the PCPNDT Act bars prenatal sex determination, so any prenatal testing must not become a route to it.
Close with · Paternity testing of an unborn child must meet the proportionality test — ordered only with consent or compelling need, balancing the woman's privacy, the child's interest and truth-seeking.
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2024, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 362 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
In K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) a nine-judge bench held that privacy is intrinsic to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and runs through the freedoms of Part III; it protects the body, the home, personal information and personal choices.
Privacy under Article 21
- Dimensions: bodily integrity, informational privacy and decisional autonomy — including reproductive choice, recognised in Suchita Srivastava (2009).
- Not absolute: any intrusion must satisfy legality (a valid law), a legitimate state aim and proportionality — the test laid down in Puttaswamy.
- Application: a compelled genetic test touches all three dimensions — the body, sensitive data and the choice to keep parentage private — so it must be justified, not routine.
DNA testing of a child in the womb for paternity
- Presumption of legitimacy: a child born during a valid marriage is conclusively presumed legitimate unless non-access is proved — Section 112 of the Evidence Act, now Section 116 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
- No roving inquiry: in Goutam Kundu (1993) the Supreme Court held that courts cannot order blood tests as a matter of course; there must be a strong prima facie case and an 'eminent need', and no one can be compelled to give a sample — refusal can at most invite an adverse inference. Bhabani Prasad Jena (2010) required balancing the interests of the parties against the privacy invaded.
- The unborn child: prenatal sampling is invasive and carries risk to the foetus and the mother, so the woman's informed consent and bodily autonomy are decisive; courts do not compel it.
- Practice: where paternity matters in a rape case, courts direct preservation of foetal tissue after a lawful termination, or DNA testing after birth, rather than testing in the womb.
- Safeguards: the PCPNDT Act, 1994 bars prenatal sex determination, so any prenatal genetic test must be confined to the purpose ordered; the child's interest in not being declared illegitimate weighs against casual testing.
Paternity testing of an unborn child sits where truth-seeking meets privacy; it must pass the proportionality test — ordered only with consent or on compelling need — so that the woman's autonomy and the child's interest are not sacrificed to curiosity.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.