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ULawyer here. The headline is highly misleading. News channels often do this as click bait for legal news. The understanding of legal language is also lost on most news writers. Please refer to the appropriate title in the [Bar and Bench article ](https://www.barandbench.com/news/husband-presumed-legal-father-child-despite-wifes-adultery-supreme-court)
Paternity and legitimacy are completely different in context. The judgement says, when marriage is persisting during the birth of a child, the husband is presumed to be the legal father of the child. Does not mean that the legitimacy cannot be challenged at all. Burden is upon the party challenging the legitimacy. The party who challenges the legitimacy should be able to provide evidence to support the claim.
In this present case regarding maintenance, the wife claimed the child was born out of her adultery and that the legal husband was not the biological father. Courts cannot force a party to undergo DNA testing only when there is evidence to prove the illegitimacy of the child. Here, the ‘alleged’ biological father refused to undergo a forceful DNA test which violates his right to privacy. For these reasons, the son is presumed to be the legitimate son of the ex-husband until proven otherwise.
