Paternity row: Hyderabad lab to conduct DNA test on ND Tiwari

The Delhi high court today modified its earlier order and asked Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA, Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) to conduct DNA test on veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari to ascertain the plea of a 31-year-old man claiming to be his biological son.

Justice Gita Mittal allowed the plea of Rohit Shekhar that the earlier judgment of the court be modified as the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) at Hyderabad, which was authorised to conduct the DNA test, was no more conducting such tests.

Rohit, in his application, said that instead of CCMB, the CDFD laboratory be asked to conduct the test on 85-year old Tiwari. The plea was allowed by the court.

Justice Mittal then posted the matter on April 4 before the joint registrar who would decide the procedural formalities, including the procurement of blood sample from Tiwari, to conduct the DNA test.

The octogenarian leader, meanwhile, received a jolt as the Supreme Court today refused to stay the high court order asking him to undergo DNA test in the paternity case.

However, the apex court made clear that the findings of the test would not be made public until and unless it was required to decide the paternity suit against Tiwari.

Refusing to grant any relief, it said that considering the age of the leader, it is necessary to have a DNA test so that the young man claiming to be his son is not left without any remedy if something happens to Tiwari.

Earlier, the high court had dismissed Tiwari's appeal against the single judge order asking him to undergo DNA test on a plea made by Rohit claiming to be his biological son.

"Irreparable loss is bound to visit the plaintiff (Rohit Shekhar) if the orders under the application are not immediately passed in as much as the suit itself may be rendered infructuous and vital evidence may be lost forever," the bench had said.

Rohit has claimed that he was born out of the leader's alleged relationship with his mother Ujjawala Sharma.

Tiwari, a former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, who had also held key ministerial portfolios at the Centre, was forced to resign as Andhra Pradesh Governor in 2009 amid allegations of sexual misconduct against him following the airing of a sting operation in news channels purportedly with some women.