Supreme Court rules man cannot be forced to pay maintenance for non-biological child

The Supreme Court dismissed the woman's appeal and held that a man cannot be compelled to pay maintenance for a child who is not biologically his, even if the child is born after marriage. The court noted that the DNA test conducted during proceedings showed the man was not the biological father and that the mother did not challenge the report. It upheld the trial court and Delhi High Court decisions denying maintenance for the child, citing the 2014 rule that unequivocal DNA evidence overrides legal presumptions. Nevertheless, the court directed the Department of Women and Child Development, Delhi Government, to assess the child's condition (education, nutrition, health) and provide necessary assistance in the child's best interests.

The Supreme Court cited the 2023 judgment Aparna Ajinkya Firodia v. Ajinkya Arun Firodia and other precedents to note that orders for conducting DNA tests should be issued with extreme caution.

The couple married in 2016. Disputes later led the wife to seek interim maintenance under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, setting the procedural path for the case that reached the Supreme Court.

A 2014 judgment established that where scientific evidence (DNA) is unequivocal, it shall override legal presumptions in paternity-related matters, affecting conclusions in related maintenance cases.