The octogenarian Narayan Dutt Tiwari excites sympathy. Not because he is accused of denying paternity (which may or may not be true), but because he can expect no respite from the media. I am not questioning the propriety of the Supreme Court’s decision to reject his appeal for an order restraining his putative son from disclosing the result of the blood test to newspapers and television. I am commenting on the fact that the veteran politician seems more afraid of the publicity than of being proved to have fathered Rohit Shekhar.