New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh Governor N D Tiwari is in the thick of a legal battle by a 29-year old grandson of a former Union minister claiming to be his son, a version rubbished by the veteran Congress leader

Rohit Shekhar, grandson of former Union Minister Sher Singh, said in the lawsuit in the Delhi High Court that he was born out of a relationship between Tiwari and his mother Ujjwala Singh who is also associated with Congress Party.

Efforts to get reaction from Raj Bhawan in Hyderabad proved futile.

When contacted Ujjwala said Rohit had to approach the High Court after Tiwari refused to accept him as his son.

"I belong to a respectable family. My father was a former Union Minister. It needs guts to reveal such information in the open court but I stand by my son Rohit as his rights are being denied by Tiwari," Ujjwala, told PTI over telephone.

She said the court on April had issued notice to Tiwari who has denied the claim.

She said the octogenarian leader has admitted his association with her but denied having any relationship.

"Despite her son expressing his willingness to undergo the DNA test to establish the paternity of Tiwari, he has refused the same and instead opposed the lawsuit by questioning her character by describing her as an "unchaste" woman," she said.

The former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand said there is no legal provision under which he can be forced undergo DNA test, she said.

Tiwari has also questioned the jurisdiction of the High Court in entertaining the lawsuit as he was presently residing in Hyderabad and Rohit was born in Lucknow. He is also believed to have challenged a court s power to order a paternity test against the will of the party concerned.

The court admitted Rohit s petition in April and sought a response from Tiwari.
Source : PTI