HC Relief for ND Tiwari in paternity test

In a relief to veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari, the Delhi HC on Friday ruled that he cannot be "physically forced" to give blood samples for a DNA test to decide the paternity suit filed by a 31-year-old man claiming to be his biological son. Harish V Nair reports.

In a relief to veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari, the Delhi HC on Friday ruled that he cannot be "physically forced" to give blood samples for a DNA test to decide the paternity suit filed by a 31-year-old man claiming to be his biological son.

HT Image

"Such an act would be unwarranted intrusion on his rights under Article 21 of the constitution and is completely impermissible", said justice Gita Mittal while deciding on Tiwari's plea that he cannot be compelled to give the samples. But the court slammed Tiwari for continuing to defy its orders and said it would lead to a "presumption" that he is the father of Rohit Shekhar who sought the paternity test.

The judge said the presumption would be a "strong corroborative evidence" against Tiwari in the suit. "The conscious and emphatic refusal clearly suggests" that Tiwari "does not wish to run the risk of providing" evidence that would help Rohit "establish his case and so is malafide", said the court.

But justice Mittal said even if the court ordered a compulsory test, its enforceability was doubtful as it would entail forcing him before medical experts and confining him for the purposes of drawing a sample.