HC reserves order on youth's plea against N D Tiwari

The Delhi high court on Wednesday reserved its order on a city youth's plea, challenging its earlier order that veteran Congress leader N D Tiwari cannot be compelled to give his blood samples for his DNA test to decide the youth's paternity suit.

A bench of acting Chief Justice A K Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw reserved the verdict on plea by Rohit Shekhar, who claims himself to be Tiwari's biological son and had challenged the high court's single-judge order of September 23, 2011, before its division bench.

In his appeal, Rohit had said the court had failed to deal with Tiwari's "dismissive conduct" against its previous order to give his blood sample to decide his paternity suit.

"The single judge failed to satisfactorily deal with the high-handed and dismissive conduct of Tiwari, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand," said 31-year-old Rohit.

The court had failed to consider if 86-year-old Tiwari is not compelled to submit his blood sample in compliance with the court's earlier order, it would be difficult for him to get justice, Rohit said in his petition against Tiwari, also a former governor of Andhra Pradesh.

Referring to the court's remark that Tiwari's failure in giving his blood sample for DNA test may lead to an adverse inference against him, while deciding the paternity suit,

Rohit said that such an inference is not same as conclusive evidence. "The court also failed to appreciate that an adverse inference can never have the same effect as a conclusive scientific determination of paternity," he submitted.

Justice Gita Mittal had on September 23 last year ruled, "Tiwari cannot be physically compelled or confined for submitting his blood sample for DNA profiling to implement its December 2010 judgement."

At the same time, she had also said that his (Tiwari's) persistent refusal can lead to the presumption that he is Rohit's father.

The court's September order had come on Tiwari's plea challenging the December 23, 2010, order of the high court which had asked him to give his blood sample for DNA test.

Tiwari had on June 1, 2011, refused to appear in the high court dispensary to give his blood sample for DNA test to ascertain Rohit's claim of being his biological son, saying he cannot be forced to do so.

Refuting Rohit's claim, Tiwari had challenged the high court's single judge order before its division bench which too had rejected his appeal, following which he had gone in for an appeal in the apex court on February 28 last year.

But, the apex court had on March 14, 2011, refused to stay the high court's order for his DNA test.

After the apex court refused to stay the high court's order and the high court subsequently asked him to appear before a doctor at a dispensary in high court premises to give his blood sample, Tiwari had started another round of litigation, contending that he cannot be physically forced to give his blood sample.