New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking DNA testing across the country to decide disputes over parenthood, saying courts cannot run the whole system.
The petition came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia.
The apex court observed that prayers made in the petition were very difficult to be granted on an all-India basis.
"Courts cannot run the whole system. It can decide the issue which crops up in a case," the bench told the petitioner.
The bench referred to section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act under which birth during continuance of a valid marriage is a conclusive proof of legitimacy of the child.
"What kind of petition is this?" the top court asked the petitioner, who was appearing in-person, adding, "You want DNA test to be done across the country?"
It asked the petitioner whether he has any personal litigation.
Any Indian citizen or lawyer can appear as petitioner in-person in a court in their individual capacity.
The petitioner replied in the affirmative and said he has a seven-year-old dispute on the issue.
"The prayers would be very difficult to be granted on all-India basis merely because the petitioner has had some issues which are pending… ," the bench said while refusing to entertain the plea.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)