Daily hearing of paternity case against N.D. Tiwari

New Delhi, Jan 7 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Monday ordered a day-to-day hearing of the paternity suit filed by a man claiming to be the biological son of Congress leader N.D. Tiwari.

During the hearing, the court suggested the counsel appearing for Tiwari to settle the issue amicably outside court through mediation, but the counsel refused saying there was a possibility that the medical evidence was not 100 percent accurate.

Ordering the daily trial, Justice Manmohan said: "The local commissioner is hereby directed to conduct the hearing on a day-to-day basis."

Earlier during the hearing, the court suggesting an out of court settlement, observed: "Let this matter go to the mediation centre for settling it as the medical evidence in the form of DNA report clearly suggests that the respondent (Tiwari) is the father of the petitioner (Rohit Shekhar)."

Tiwari's counsel Bahar-u-Barqi refused to accept the court's suggestion and submitted that his client would like to contest the suit as the scientific proof cannot be held to be conclusive.

After Tiwari's counsel refused to accept the court's suggestion, Justice Manmohan said: "It is almost conclusive and it seems that he does not want to do the mediation process."

The court asked retired additional district judge Justice Vimala Maken, who had been appointed the local commissioner in the case, to proceed on day-to-day basis with the recording of evidence in the matter.

It said that the local commissioner would initiate the proceedings from Jan 21.

Meanwhile, Tiwari, 88, was directed to submit within four weeks a demand draft of Rs.46,000 which was imposed on him as cost during an earlier proceeding.

July 27 last year the high court had opened the DNA report which showed Tiwari as Shekhar's biological father.

Rohit Shekhar had filed the paternity suit in 2008 claiming the Tiwari to be his biological father. Tiwari had refuted the claim and even refused to undergo a DNA test.

Tiwari was thrice the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and once the chief minister of Uttarakhand. He was the also governor of Andhra Pradesh from 2007 until 2009.