Tiwari appeals against HC order to open his DNA report

Veteran Congress leader N D Tiwari moved the Delhi high court on Thursday against its single judge's order to open his DNA report on Friday to decide the paternity suit of a youth claiming to be his biological son.

In his appeal, 87-year-old Tiwari has pleaded with the court to protect his "right to reputation," contending that the single-judge bench has adopted a "shortcut" to decide the suit and it would cause "grave injustice" to him.

"The single judge failed to appreciate that in a civil dispute, where the undisputed position of the parties is that no criminality is involved, the appellant's (Tiwari) right to reputation has to be protected," said Tiwari citing the Supreme Court's May 24 order.

"The single judge failed to appreciate that evolving a shortcut to decide the pending suit would result in grave injustice to the appellant and his fundamental right to avail the procedure established by law like any other citizen would be prejudiced and would result in irreparable damage," the plea said, while seeking the bench to quash the single judge's July 20 order.

He further said, "Rohit Shekhar (the petitioner in paternity suit) and his mother are leaving no stone unturned to get the report unsealed and make it public to attract undue media attraction without completion of the trial."

A former Andhra Pradesh governor, Tiwari earlier had filed an application before the single judge for keeping the DNA report confidential and holding in-camera proceedings in the case, saying the Supreme Court had given such a direction on May 24.

The single judge had dismissed Tiwari's plea against making his DNA report public, saying the apex court's order to maintain confidentiality was for the purpose of collection of his blood sample for the DNA test and the transmission of the report to the high court, but not for the purpose of trial.

"You cannot misinterpret the Supreme Court order. It was for the purpose of collection of blood sample for DNA test," the judge had said, adding that the DNA report will be opened on July 27.

Tiwari had given blood sample for the DNA test on May 29 at his residence in Dehradun following the apex court's order in the case, after repeatedly contesting against undertaking the test on various grounds.

Tiwari's pleas were objected to by 32-year-old Delhi youth Rohit Shekhar, who had filed the paternity suit in 2008, claiming that the veteran Congress leader was his biological father. Tiwari had refuted Shekhar's claim.

The high court, in its April 27 order, had ordered Tiwari to undergo the DNA test in the paternity suit and had also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.

Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics had recently submitted the DNA reports of Tiwari, Shekhar and his mother Ujjawala Sharma to the high court in sealed covers.