The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed an application by senior Congress leader N.D. Tiwari urging it to pass a direction not to make his DNA test report public before the completion of the trial relating to the pending paternity suit filed by a young man claiming that he was his biological son.
The test report is likely to be opened on July 27 when the matter is scheduled to come up for hearing.
Mr. Tiwari had sought the direction to keep the DNA test report secret, citing a Supreme Court order in the matter.
Alluding to the order, he submitted that it had been made clear in it that the DNA report would remain confidential till the conclusion of a reasonable, appropriate and proportionate trial.
Dismissing his plea, Justice Reva Khetrpal said that the Supreme Court order to maintain confidentiality was limited to the collection of his blood sample, the DNA test and submission of the test report to the High Court.
‘Undue media attention’
Mr. Tiwari had also urged the Court to pass a direction to conduct the entire trial and all proceedings relating to the civil suit in-camera submitting that the youth and plaintiff in the matter, Rohit Shekhar, and his mother were leaving no stone unturned to get the report unsealed and make it public to attract undue media attention.
Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics recently submitted the DNA test report of Mr. Tiwari, Mr. Rohit Shekhar and his mother Ujjwala Sharma to the High Court in a sealed cover.
The Centre had conducted the DNA test on a direction by the High Court to decide the claim of Mr. Rohit Shekhar. Mr. Tiwari had given his blood sample for the test at Dehra Dun on a direction by the Supreme Court.
