The Supreme Court has held that no person can be compelled to give a sample for DNA in order to determine the paternity. The judgement authored by Justice Qazi Faez Isa delivered on the dispute between a brother and his foster sister. Fawad Qayum had filed a suit against Laila Qayum alleging that she was "an abandoned infant in a local hospital" and was adopted by his father, late Abdul Qayum, and mother, Nasreen Begum, in the year 1996 and was brought up as their own daughter. He further alleged that the fact of adoption was, however, concealed from Laila and she was made to believe that she is the (real) daughter of Abdul Qayum and Nasreen Begum.

In his suit, Fawad sought two declarations; firstly, that Laila was not the real daughter of Abdul Qayum and Nasreen Begum and, secondly, that Laila has no right to their legacy. He also prayed that the documents showing Laila to be the daughter of Abdul Qayum be cancelled to such extent.

Fawad sought to deprive Laila of her identity and of her inheritance. The court can neither legally make the declarations the plaintiff seeks, nor can it order the cancellation of the documents. The judgement said that the suit of Fawad cannot be decreed.

The judgement said that in the Salman Akram Raja case, it was rightly held that a free lady cannot be compelled to give a sample for DNA testing as it would violate her liberty. "If a sample is forcibly taken from Laila to determine her paternity, it would violate her liberty, dignity and privacy which Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees to a free person," said the judgement.

The court rejected contention of Fawad's counsel and noted that in the case of Muhammad Shahid Sahil, the DNA of a rapist was sought by the victim to compare it with the DNA of the child born as a consequence of the rape.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019