The Supreme Court on Monday held that directing DNA testing cannot become a routine investigative measure and must be exercised only in exceptional cases where justice demands such intrusion. The court emphasised that DNA testing, by its very nature, constitutes a deep invasion of privacy and bodily autonomy, requiring adherence to constitutional safeguards.
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Vipul Pancholi observed that courts must exercise “utmost circumspection” while ordering DNA tests and ensure that the sanctity of family relationships and the legitimacy of children born within wedlock are not jeopardised by speculative or exploratory investigations.
“DNA testing cannot be ordered as a matter of course and must be subject to stringent safeguards to protect the dignity of individuals and the legitimacy of children born during the wedlock. Courts must remain vigilant against fishing inquiries masquerading as legitimate requests for scientific evidence,” the bench said.
Calling DNA testing a “grave intrusion upon privacy and personal liberty”, the court said such an encroachment can only be justified if it meets the threefold constitutional test of legality, legitimate State aim, and proportionality. Any forced or unwarranted collection of DNA samples, it added, risks turning legitimate investigative powers into intrusive violations of fundamental rights.
The ruling came in a plea filed by a Tamil Nadu-based doctor challenging a Madras High Court order directing him to provide blood samples for DNA profiling in connection with a criminal case.
The case arose from a complaint filed by a woman from Pattukottai who alleged that the doctor had developed physical relations with her while treating her husband, leading to the birth of a child. When the doctor refused to marry her, she approached a television channel to air her grievance, prompting registration of an FIR under Sections 417 (cheating) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the IPC and Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Women Harassment Act.
The Madras High Court had directed DNA testing to establish paternity.
The Supreme Court set aside the High Court order, holding that it was based on a “fundamental misapprehension” of both statutory and constitutional principles. It ruled that the alleged offences did not warrant DNA analysis.
“The offences alleged, falling under Sections 417 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Women Harassment Act, are neither of nature nor of a circumstance that warrant recourse to DNA analysis,” the bench said.
It further clarified that the High Court’s reliance on Sections 53 and 53A of the Code of Criminal Procedure was misplaced since these provisions allow medical examination only when it may directly yield evidence relating to the alleged crime.
The bench concluded that compulsion for DNA testing, without demonstrated necessity, “transforms a lawful investigative power into an intrusive measure devoid of necessity.” It warned that scientific tools, however advanced, cannot become instruments of speculation.
“Scientific procedures, however advanced, cannot be employed as instruments of speculation; they must be anchored in demonstrable relevance to the charge and justified by compelling investigative need,” the judgment stated.
