UPSC Mains 2024 GS2 Q12 — Fundamental Rights Privacy
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. (Answer in 250 words) 15
Question Decoded — examiner's intent
- Directive verbs
- Explaindiscuss
- Scope keywords
- Right to privacyintrinsic to life and personal libertyArticle 21D.N.A. testing of child in the wombestablish its paternity
- Implicit sub-parts
- The evolution of Right to Privacy from Kharak Singh to the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy judgment.
- The legal thresholds and 'compelling necessity' test for ordering a DNA test.
- Balancing the child's right to legitimacy and the mother's right to bodily autonomy and privacy.
- The evidentiary value of DNA tests under Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act vs. the right to privacy.
- Common pitfalls
- Spending 200 words on the Puttaswamy case without specifically addressing the 'child in the womb' and 'paternity' aspect.
- Failing to mention the 'presumption of legitimacy' under Section 112 of the Indian Evidence Act.
- Ignoring the mother's right to refuse consent for an invasive prenatal procedure as a subset of her privacy.
- Vague discussion on DNA technology without citing relevant Supreme Court precedents like Aparna Ajit Doshi vs. Bharat Seth.
- Dimensions required
- ConstitutionalLegal/StatutoryEthicalJudicial Precedents
- Marks allocation hint
Allocate approximately 100 words to the constitutional conceptualization of privacy under Article 21 and the Puttaswamy framework. Use the remaining 150 words to discuss the specific legal conflict regarding DNA testing, focusing on the 'eminent need' vs. 'privacy' balance and relevant case law involving Section 112.
Unlock the full analysis for this question
You've seen the question and its examiner-intent decoding. Subscribers also get:
- 🔗 Similar Previous Year Questions — cross-year, cross-paper matches so you study the topic, not the question
- 📚 Source Map — verified citations from Laxmikanth, NCERT, PRS, Yojana, Economic Survey, Spectrum
- 🌱 How this topic is evolving — current-affairs bridge anchored to live TARS news clustering
- 🧭 Examiner's Pattern — how the topic has been framed across every year UPSC has tested it
- ✍️ Answer Skeleton — a structured outline (intro → body → conclusion) you can flesh out
- 🎯 AI evaluation — write your answer, get rubric-based scoring from gs-eval
Or browse 132+ free preview questions across all years and papers — the first 3 questions of every paper are unlocked.
Ready to practice?
Subscribers can attempt this question in 250 words and get an instant, rubric-based evaluation showing where they stand.
Subscribe to evaluate your answer →