The Delhi High Court on Friday ordered veteran Congress leader to undergo DNA test on a paternity suit.
It said police force could be used to compel him to give blood sample as non-implementation of judicial orders would make courts a “laughing stock.”
Setting aside the September 23, 2011 order of the single judge, a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw imposed a cost of Rs. 25,000 on 86-year-old Tiwari.
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The court was critical of the single judge who had said the order asking the octogenarian to undergo the DNA test for ascertaining the paternity of 32-year-old Rohit Shekhar, who had filed a suit against the Congress leader, was “un-implementable and unenforceable“.
“We therefore allow this appeal and set aside the order dated September 23, 2011 ...We further deem it necessary to now clarify the procedure to be followed for compliance of the direction contained in the order dated December 23, 2010.
“Upon the respondent 1 [Mr. Tiwari] continuing to defy the order, the Single Judge shall be entitled to take police assistance and use of reasonable force for compliance thereof,” the Bench said in its 31-page order.
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If an illegal occupant could be physically removed by the police following a court order then why a person could not be forced to give blood sample in compliance with a judicial order with the use of force, the court said.