Delhi HC quashes order directing university to disclose PM Modi's degree

DU had initially filed a plea in 2017 against CIC order that allowed inspection of student records from the BA batch of 1978, same year when PM Modi has appeared for examinations

The Delhi High Court on Monday quashed the Central Information Commission (CIC) directive requiring the University of Delhi to disclose educational records related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bachelor's degree, according to a report by Live Law.

 

The order was passed by Justice Sachin Datta, the report said.

 

The University of Delhi had initially filed a plea in 2017 against CIC order that allowed inspection of student records from the Bachelor of Arts (BA) batch of 1978. PM Modi also appeared for his examinations from the university in the same year.

 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the university, clarified that while it has no objection to sharing the degree with the court, it opposes "disclosure to strangers". He added that “mere curiosity is not sufficient to trigger right to information (RTI)". 

 

On the other hand, Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, representing the RTI petitioner, argued that such academic information is routinely public and often displayed on university notice boards, websites, and in newspapers. Therefore, it should be accessible under RTI.

RTI activist had sought details

According to the report, RTI activist Neeraj Kumar had sought details of all students who appeared for the university's BA examination in 1978, including their roll numbers, names, marks, and results.

 

While the Central Public Information Officer of the University of Delhi denied the request, terming it “third-party information", CIC had approved the disclosure in 2016. In its ruling, the CIC noted that educational records of students, past or present, fall in the public domain. The CIC reportedly stated that universities are public bodies and degree-related records maintained in their registers qualify as public documents.

 

The matter reached Delhi High Court in 2017, where the university argued that while it can share the total number of students who appeared for the exams, passed and failed, it cannot provide other details as they contain personal information.