ND Tiwari not to be compelled for DNA test, but loses dignity

The Delhi high court on Friday said though veteran Congress leader ND Tiwari cannot be physically compelled to give blood sample for a DNA test in a paternity suit filed by a youth, his persistent refusal can lead to the presumption that he is the father.

Justice Gita Mittal’s judgment came on a plea of 85-year-old Tiwari challenging the high court’s earlier order asking him to give blood sample. “He (Tiwari) cannot be physically compelled or confined to give blood sample but his continuous refusal is malafide and arbitrary and unjustified,” the judgment said.

“Mandatory testing in a case raising parentage issues would involve important concerns of its application in discriminatory manner and/or with disregard for the privileges associated with a person’s physical integrity as well as privacy concerns,” the court ruled.

The court, however, added that due to Tiwari’s continuous refusal to give blood sample, a presumption can be drawn on the basis of corroborative evidence produced by the plaintiff, 31-year-old Rohit Shekhar, that he is Tiwari’s biological son.

“The conscious and emphatic refusal clearly suggests that Tiwari does not wish to run the risk of providing the plaintiff with evidence that would establish his case and is malafide,” said the court.

However, Justice Mittal said that the court would construe the weight to be attached to and the impact of his (Tiwari) refusal while evaluating the evidence produced by the parties, which then may be treated as corroborative evidence leading to the presumption that the result of the DNA profiling of the defendant `s blood sample would have supported the plaintiff`s claim.