Parents of baby born six months after marriage asked to prove paternity to register birth

TDT | Manama                                                            

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A baby born six months after parents' marriage but faced rejection from birth registration authorities over paternity doubts can now heave a sigh of relief. The High Shariat Court yesterday ordered the authorities to register the birth, ruling in favour of the parents.

The authorities here had put the couple in a difficult predicament of proving the child's paternity through a DNA test. That, however, is over now. The court passed the verdict by accepting the couple's marriage contract as legally valid. Birth registration authorities had turned the couple away, arguing that they would register the birth only after the couple proved the child's paternity through a DNA test setting the stage for a court battle. Yesterday, in its ruling, the court ruled out the objections raised by the officials against the child's paternity invalid before ordering the authorities to register the birth.

Court files say the parents moved the court when the competent authorities refused to register until they undergo a DNA test. "My clients have a valid marriage contract, and their relationship has yielded a child after six months of pregnancy," the plaintiffs' lawyer said, arguing that there are hardly any grounds for rejecting the application.

"However, the competent authorities rejected my clients' application to register their child," she added. The court, however, accepted the marriage certificate as valid proof. "The pair have a valid marriage contract, and their baby arrived after six months of their marriage. Therefore, the court rules in favour of the couple," the court order reads.