After DNA test, court allows biological father's name on child's birth certificate
In a rare ruling involving paternity and civil records, the Bombay High Court has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to issue a fresh birth
In a rare ruling involving paternity and civil records, the Bombay High Court has directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to issue a fresh birth certificate for a minor girl by replacing the name of the man recorded as her father with that of her biological father after DNA evidence established paternity. Calling it a "peculiar case with peculiar facts," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge and Justice Ranjitsinha R Bhonsale passed the order while hearing a petition jointly filed by a Mumbai woman and her husband. Read Full Story According to the court records, the woman had married her first husband on February 14, 2006.
The couple had no children and later began living separately. In 2013, they jointly approached the court seeking a divorce. However, during the period of separation, the woman entered into a relationship with another man and gave birth to a daughter on December 14, 2009. Since she was still legally married at the time of the child's birth, the name of her then husband was entered as the father in the birth certificate issued by the BMC on March 22, 2010, despite him not being the biological parent. After her divorce, the woman married the child's biological father. The couple later approached the civic body seeking correction of the birth records to reflect the child's biological parentage.
In their petition, both the woman and her present husband stated on oath that they were the biological parents of the child. The woman affirmed that her former husband was not the child's biological father, while her current husband admitted that he was the man with whom she had conceived the child and accepted paternity before the court. To support their claim, the couple submitted a DNA paternity test report dated October 27, 2025. The High Court noted that the report concluded the alleged father possessed the genetic markers expected of a biological parent and assessed the probability of paternity at 99.99 per cent.
After examining the material placed before it, the bench directed the BMC to issue a corrected birth certificate carrying the name of the child's biological father in place of the man whose name had originally been recorded. The civic body has been asked to complete the exercise by next month. The court observed that the case involved exceptional circumstances and decided the matter based on the specific facts before it, including the sworn statements of the couple and the scientific evidence establishing the child's biological parentage. Ends
The BriefWire