Court reserves order on paternity suit against Tiwari

The Delhi High Court Tuesday reserved its order on the paternity case against Andhra Pradesh Governor N.D. Tiwari. A former Congress party activist, Ujjwala Sharma has claimed that her son Rohit Shekhar is the veteran politician’s natural son.
Justice S.N. Dhingra reserved the order after hearing both parties.

Sharma told the court in a written statement that Tiwari drew her into an extra-marital relationship.

“Believing the repeated requests and being convinced of the love and affection shown by Tiwari, hailing from a respectable and prestigious family, I submitted to emotional pressure and that culminated in the birth of Rohit Shekhar,” Sharma said.

Tiwari has been in the thick of controversy following Shekhar’s suit seeking declaration from the court that he is the biological son of the former Congress leader.

Tiwari has been a central minister as well as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Sharma filed her response after Tiwari refuted Shekhar’s claims and contended before the court that the petition was scandalous and filed only to defame him.

Sharma, legally separated from her husband, alleged in her plea that Tiwari started losing interest in Rohit after becoming an MP and started threatening her.

After the death of his wife in 1993, Tiwari had once again assured her that he would acknowledge Rohit publicly as his son by way of adoption but “when reminded in 1995 he refused to talk to me,” Sharma said.

A single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court Nov 25, 2008, directed the governor to appear before it Dec 16 for in-chamber hearing as it was a family matter. He was later exempted from personal appearance