The Bombay High Court has stated that 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 placed the child up for adoption. The bench had previously inquired with the police about whether they had carried out a DNA test on the infant 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 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.