HC stays DNA test of adopted children born to rape victims

7 July 2023

KOCHI: Children born to victims of sexual assault, even after legal adoption should not be forced for DNA blood sample tests, said HCThe High Court Justice K Babu put an interim stay to the many lower court decisions allowing DNA samples to be taken from such children

Kerala State Legal Service Authority(KELSA) controlled Victims Rights Center project coordinator advocate Parvati Menon earlier made a report saying the procedure was an intrusion into the privacy of such children who will get strangled in thoughts if revealed their identity

“The child would have blended so well with the adopted family that a sudden revelation that he/she is an adopted child and that too of a rape victim can imbalance their emotional status and can result in them exhibiting behavioral disorders and aberrations,” said the report by the Victim Rights Centre

The report reached the court through the advocate general. Meanwhile, the single bench has asked for a response from Government and KELSA and scheduled the next hearing on July 21

The DNA samples can be collected from children only for cases including alimony and divorce