DNA test: HC asks Tiwari to give consent in two days
Veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari was on Monday asked by the Delhi high court to inform it within two days as to whether he wants to voluntarily give his blood sample for a DNA test in a paternity suit or police force be used for obtaining it.
Veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari was today asked by the Delhi high court to inform it within two days as to whether he wants to voluntarily give his blood sample for a DNA test in a paternity suit or police force be used for obtaining it.
Justice Reva Khetrapal also told the counsel for 86-year-old Tiwari that his client will not leave India till he gives his blood sample for the requisite DNA test in the matter in the wake of orders of the Delhi high court and the Supreme Court.
Tiwari, former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, was earlier directed by the high court and the apex court to furnish a blood sample for the DNA test.
"It is deemed expedient that the time of two days be granted to defendant no. 1 (Tiwari) to inform whether he voluntarily wants to give blood sample for the DNA test or the court will have to take recourse to police force. List the matter on May 16," Justice Khetrapal said.
The court, meanwhile, also directed the Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) to send "requisite kits" for the DNA test to the registrar of the court.
The court rejected the plea of Tiwari's counsel that a week's time be granted to him for taking instruction in this regard from the Dehradun-based Congress leader.
"I cannot keep the matter pending as the issue has finally been decided by a division bench of this court and by the Supreme Court and nothing remains to be decided," the court said, adding, "Either you make a statement that Tiwari will not leave the country or I will restrain him."
The court's directions came on an application of 32-year-old Rohit Shekhar seeking to compel Tiwari to furnish his blood sample at the earliest to decide the four-year-old paternity suit.
The court was hearing a fresh plea by Shekhar against Tiwari, a former Governor of Andhra Pradesh, seeking that he be asked to give the blood sample to ascertain whether he was the biological father of the petitioner.
The veteran leader had recently suffered set backs in the high court and the Supreme Court in his bid to avoid giving his blood sample.
A two-judge bench of the high court had said that even police force could be used for compelling Tiwari to comply with the earlier order in the case as non-implementation of judicial orders would make courts a "laughing stock".
Tiwari had moved the apex court against the order but he could not get the desired relief.
"Enough is enough. You (Tiwari) were not present on earlier occasions. Having regard to your age, we had told you to give sample in a sealed cover. We gave you protection under Article 21, but enough is enough," justices Aftab Alam and CK Prasad had said.
Shekhar had moved the fresh plea seeking that the court should appoint a commissioner to take Tewari's blood sample with assistance from the police, as mandated by the April 27 order.
Shekhar, in his application, has said that the Congress leader be asked to bear the cost of the execution of the order and be restrained from leaving the country to avoid complying with the judicial order.
Earlier, a single-judge bench had said that the order asking Tiwari to undergo the DNA test for ascertaining the paternity of Shekhar was "un-implementable and unenforceable" and, hence, he could not be forced to give his blood sample for this purpose.
Setting aside the order, the division bench of the high court had said "...Police assistance and use of reasonable force for compliance thereof" can be taken as judicial orders needed to be executed.
Shekhar had in 2008 filed the paternity suit seeking to declare Tiwari as his biological father and a single judge and a division bench of the high court had asked Tiwari to go for the DNA test.
The Supreme Court also did not stay the order and had opined that Tiwari should abide by the court orders as vital evidence may be lost for forever considering his old age.
Tiwari, who had also held key ministerial portfolios at the Centre, was forced to resign as the Andhra Pradesh Governor in 2009 amid allegations of sexual misconduct against him following the airing of a sting operation in news channels.