THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Adultery. Mistrust. Fragile family relations. This storyline has a potpourri of
subplots that can fit perfectly into a family soap. But this is no fantasy ride. Malayalees are increasingly leaning towards scientific methods to prove their parentage. Express gives a ringside view.
RGCB, FSL only attend cases referred by courts or the State Women’s Commission
Rs 25,000 General charge for DNA test 150 cases were handled by two accredited DNA paternity testing centres in the state in 2016 140 Tests at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) of the Kerala Police
46 Tests at the Regional Facility for DNA Fingerprinting (RFDF) at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology in T’Puram
Twin blow
A paternity dispute ended up in a startling finding that a pair of fraternal twins had different fathers. This occurrence - heteropaternal superfecundation - is one of the “extremely rare” cases. The officials said the husband was certain about the paternity of one child, but was suspicious over the other child.
The person also alleged that the woman was having an illicit affair with a neighbour. “The woman denied the charges and agreed to undergo the DNA test. But confirming the man’s doubts, the results stated he was the biological father of only one child,” they said. The woman later confessed to the officials that she had sex with the neighbour within 48 hours of the first intercourse
testing time
1 The test is also sought by many women who got pregnant after having a sexual relation on false promise of marriage.
2 The Commission bears the cost of test for people in BPL and SC/ST categories.
3 The centres did not divulge the number of cases tested negative
Not so manly
WC officials recalled that a man refused to undergo the test. While the family issue was being heard by the Commission, the woman claimed her child was not fathered by the husband and demanded divorce. The husband refused presumably to prevent his wife entering into a legal relation with her paramour
Exception In majority of cases, couples are below the age of 30. But there are exceptions. A 50-year-old man wanted to confirm whether he was the biological father of his 20-year-old son - Prameela Devi, Women's Commission member