Conducting DNA test on rape victim's child after adoption not right: Bombay HC

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has said conducting a DNA test on the child of a rape victim after adoption would not be in the child's best interest.

A single bench of Justice G A Sanap on November 10 granted bail to a man accused of raping a 17-year-old girl and impregnating her.

The girl gave birth to the baby and put the child up for adoption.

The bench earlier sought to know from police if they had conducted a DNA test of the baby born to the victim.

The police, however, informed the court that the victim after giving birth put the child up for adoption.

The child has been already adopted and the institution concerned was not disclosing the identity of the adoptive parents, they said.

The high court noted this was reasonable.

"It is pertinent to note that in the factual situation since the child is given in adoption, the DNA test of the said child may not be in the interest of the child and future of the child," the HC said.

The accused in his bail plea claimed that though the victim was 17 years old, their relation was consensual and she had an understanding of the same.

The police case was that the accused had forcibly established physical relations with the victim and impregnated her.

The accused was arrested in 2020 by the suburban Oshiwara police on charges of rape and sexual assault under the India Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The high court in its order said it cannot accept at this stage the argument made by the accused that the victim had consented to the relation, but since the accused has been languishing in jail since his arrest in 2020, bail ought to be granted.

Although a chargesheet was filed, charges are yet to be framed by the special court, the HC noted.

"The possibility of completion of the trial in near future is very bleak. The accused has been in jail for 2 years and 10 months. In my view, therefore, further incarceration of the accused in jail is not warranted," the judge said.