The DNA test on N D Tiwari has revealed that he is the biological father of a 32-year-old youth who today won a five-year-long legal battle on a paternity suit which the veteran Congress leader tried to scuttle from the beginning.
In a first of its kind case involving a politician in India, the Delhi High Court made public the result of the DNA test report, rejecting 87-year-old Tiwari’s last ditch attempts to keep it a secret.The DNA test on N D Tiwari has revealed that he is the biological father of a 32-year-old youth who today won a five-year-long legal battle on a paternity suit which the veteran Congress leader tried to scuttle from the beginning.
“Due to my simplicity, at this point of my age, my trusted people hatched a conspiracy against me in a planned way. I have no remorse against them. My sympathy is with Mr Rohit Shekhar. I also have no grudge against Mr Rohit Shekhar,” he said.
An emotional Rohit said, “Tiwari’s legal troubles will mount now. He will pay for all the hurt he has caused my mother for so many years.”
Ujjwala said,”It is upto Rohit, whether he now wants to add ‘Tiwari’ to his name.”
Legal experts say Rohit can now seek inheritance rights and have a valid claim to the properties of Tiwari.
The 10-minute-long proceedings in the afternoon gave anxious moments to Rohit and his mother Ujjwala after Justice Khetrapal observed that the declaration of DNA test result can be deferred till Monday as she wanted to go through the order of the division bench.
However, Vedant Verma, the counsel for the youth, opposed the suggestion saying “Rohit has already suffered a heart attack. The result be declared open after taking my submissions on record that the appeal of Tiwari has been dismissed today morning with a direction that the result would be declared…”.
“The absence of Tiwari’s lawyer, despite the court’s earlier direction, is another act of indiscipline,” he said.
Senior advocate Kamini Jaiswal, appearing for Ujjwala, also sought immediate declaration of the result saying “the woman is also 70-year-old and every passing minute is causing mental agony to her.”
The court, which recorded that Tiwari’s lawyer did not appear, then asked the advocates for Rohit and Ujjwala to come in the chamber for desealing of the report and minutes later, declared the result in the open courtroom.
While announcing the result, the judge noted that “None has appeared on behalf of Defendant No 1 (Tiwari) though it is nearly 4 pm, nor any request has been made for an adjournment on behalf of defendant No 1.
“Accordingly let the sealed cover, received from CDFD, Hyderabad be opened and the report be placed on the file, which would be available to the parties only,” she directed.
The lawyers told Justice Khetrapal that the division bench had upheld the earlier order to declare the DNA test result in open court.
Earlier, during the day, the division bench concurred with the order of Justice Khetrapal that the report cannot be kept confidential as the apex court did not order so.
“We are in agreement with the single judge that nowhere the Supreme Court in its order stated that the DNA profile shall be kept in a sealed cover till the conclusion of trial.This DNA report is a piece of evidence,” the bench said.
“The purpose was to cut short the controversy and to avoid an unnecessarily prolonged trial. If the sample is not opened now, it may lead to unnecessary cross-examination of the witnesses. We do not find merit in the petition, so it is dismissed,” it said.
In his appeal, Tiwari had 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.
