A Case of Disputed Parentage

Civil Surgeon, Coorg I he loiiowmg case was unusual, m that tne maternity, as well as the paternity of a child was under dispute. The case was heard in the Criminal Court in Mercara on 10th June, 1941. Kengappa and his wife Chennamma claimed that their four-year-old son had been kidnapped a year previously by Syed Fakir and his wife Fathima Bee, who however stated that the boy was their own. They pointed to the fact that Fathima Bee was feeding the child on the breast. Blood examinations of the 'ABO' variety were conducted on all four ' parents' and the child. It was, found that the child and Fathima Bee were group A (or group 2, Moss). Her husband, Syed Fakir, and both Kengappa and Chennamma were all group 0 (4 Moss) showing that the child could not belong to Kengappa and Chennamma and that the charge of kidnapping was false.