Right to privacy is intrinsic to life and personal liberty and is inherently protected under Article 21 of the constitution. Explain. In this reference discuss the law relating to D.N.A. testing of child in the womb to establish its paternity.

The right to privacy, though not expressly enumerated, is intrinsic to the dignity, life and personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.

Privacy under Article 21

In Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017), a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously held that privacy is a fundamental right flowing from Article 21 and Part III. It protects bodily and mental integrity, informational privacy and decisional autonomy, and can be restricted only by a just, fair and reasonable law meeting the tests of legality, legitimate aim and proportionality.

DNA testing of a child to establish paternity

Compelled DNA testing directly implicates bodily autonomy and informational privacy - of the mother whose body is involved and of the child, whose legitimacy and identity are at stake.

• Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (now Section 116 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023) raises a strong presumption that a child born during a valid marriage is legitimate, rebuttable only by proof of non-access.
• Courts have consistently held that DNA tests cannot be ordered routinely. In Goutam Kundu v. State of West Bengal (1993) and Bhabani Prasad Jena, the Court laid down that there must be an 'eminent need' and a strong prima facie case, balancing the truth against the child's dignity.
• In Aparna Ajinkya Firodia v. Ajinkya Arun Firodia (2023), the Court emphasised that children should not be made pawns; their right not to have legitimacy questioned and their privacy under Article 21 must be protected.

Prenatal testing

DNA testing of a child in the womb raises added concerns of the mother's bodily integrity and health, and is permitted, if at all, only in exceptional circumstances with consent and strong justification.

Thus privacy demands that paternity DNA tests remain the exception, ordered only on compelling need and proportionality.