High court agrees to hear appeal of ND Tiwari on imposing Rs75,000 costs

The Delhi high court today agreed to hear the plea of senior Congress leader ND Tiwari challenging its decision to impose costs of Rs75,000 on him in a paternity suit filed by a young man claiming to be his biological son.

A Bench comprising justices Vikramjeet Sen and Mukta Gupta posted the hearing on the appeal for September 24.

84-year-old Tiwari has approached the Division Bench after a single judge of the high court had on August 13 dismissed his plea seeking deletion of certain paragraphs from the paternity suit and imposed costs of Rs75,000 to be paid to Rohit Shekhar, who had filed the case claiming to be his biological son.

Challenging the order of a single judge, Tiwari contended that the judge erred in rejecting his plea and imposing the costs without issuing notice to the other party.

"The single judge miserably failed to appreciate that the dismissal of his application along with the imposition of the costs of Rs75,000 is untenable in the eyes of law and contrary to the principles of natural justice and also setting a draconian precedent," the former Andhra Pradesh governor said in his appeal.

Tiwari had sought deletion of the paragraph from the suit in which Shekhar had alleged that the veteran leader avoided meeting him at the Delhi Airport when he made an attempt to do so in 2005.

Earlier, the leader had refused to undergo a DNA test and denied ever having any physical relationship with the petitioner's mother.

In an affidavit filed in the court, Tiwari had hit back at the woman Ujjwala Sharma, who is also a Congress leader, and her son, saying, "He did not have and never had any physical relationship with her.

"The plaintiff (Rohit) is not entitled to seek a DNA test as a matter of right. The same is contrary not only to the law but also to equity," he had said.

"To say that he developed a liking for her (Ujjwala) and that after 8-10 years they entered into a relationship, is scandalous and defamatory," the former Uttarakhand chief minister had said.

"The plaintiff (Rohit) is not my son. The question of acknowledging anything as alleged is denied. Every allegation/insinuation is denied," he had said, adding he was a devoted husband during that period.

Tiwari had to resign as governor of Andhra Pradesh after he was purportedly shown in a sting operation to be in a compromising position with three women.

The high court had also rejected Tiwari's plea for dismissal of the petition on the ground that it was filed 31 years after the petitioner was born in order to malign his character.