The Delhi High Court on Monday set aside a 2016 order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that had directed Delhi University (DU) to allow inspection of records related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s undergraduate degree.
Justice Sachin Datta, while pronouncing the verdict in a batch of six petitions, said in open court that “the impugned order of the CIC is set aside.” A detailed judgment is awaited. The order comes nearly six months after the court reserved its verdict on February 27.
In December 2016, the CIC had directed DU to permit inspection of records of students who passed the BA Programme in 1978 — the year Modi graduated from the university — in response to RTI applications filed by several individuals, including Neeraj Kumar, Mohd Irsad, and R K Jain.
DU challenged the directive in 2017, arguing that degrees are held in a fiduciary capacity and constitute “personal information.” The university also objected to a part of the CIC’s order directing recovery of ₹25,000 from the salary of its Central Public Information Officer for wrongly rejecting an RTI application over non-payment of fees.
Of the six petitions before the High Court, four were filed by DU against different RTI applicants.
- The fifth petition was by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), challenging a January 2017 CIC order directing inspection of records and certified copies of documents — except personal details in the admit card and marksheet — sought in connection with Modi’s school records.
- The sixth petition was filed by advocate Mohd Irsad, contesting the rejection of his RTI request regarding Modi’s degree on the ground of delayed fee payment.
DU relied on a 2023 Gujarat High Court ruling that had quashed a similar CIC order asking Gujarat University to search for Modi’s postgraduate records from 1983. The varsity maintained that the information sought under the RTI Act was exempt from disclosure as it was personal in nature and held in trust.
