Delhi High Court: "DNA Report Alone Proves Only Paternity, Not Absence Of Consent In Rape Cases"

The Delhi High Court ruled that a DNA test can confirm paternity but not prove rape without clear evidence of non-consent. A man’s rape conviction was overturned as the relationship was possibly consensual.

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Delhi High Court: "DNA Report Alone Proves Only Paternity, Not Absence of Consent in Rape Cases"

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court said that while a DNA report can confirm who the father of a child is, it cannot be used alone to prove the crime of rape.

For rape to be proven in court, it must be clearly shown that the sexual act was without the woman’s consent.

This decision was made while the court was clearing a man who had earlier been found guilty of rape and given a 10-year prison sentence.

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In an order passed on March 20, Justice Amit Mahajan said,

“The DNA report merely proves paternity. It does not and cannot, by itself, establish the absence of consent. It is trite law that the offence under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC hinges on the absence of consent.”

This means that just proving that the accused is the biological father of the child is not enough to prove rape. The court clearly stated that it must be shown that the woman did not agree to the relationship.

The judge also pointed out that the overall facts and situation in this case made the prosecution’s side look “highly improbable”. In other words, the court found the woman’s version of events difficult to believe in light of the circumstances.

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The court also added,

“The possibility that the allegations were made to retrospectively reframe a consensual relationship as rape, in order to shield the prosecutrix and her family from societal backlash, cannot be ruled out.”

This means the court felt that it’s possible the woman and her family may have called the relationship rape later on to avoid social embarrassment or criticism.

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According to the woman, the man had called her to his home by saying they would play Ludo, and then sexually assaulted her several times. She said that the last time this happened was around October or November in 2017. Later, she found out she was pregnant.

After that, she filed a police complaint (FIR) against the man in January 2018. A court then convicted the man in December 2022. However, the man appealed against this judgment, saying that their relationship had always been consensual.

After reviewing the facts, the Delhi High Court decided to set aside his conviction, as the evidence was not strong enough to prove rape beyond reasonable doubt.