The Gujarat High Court has held that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational degree constitutes personal information protected from disclosure under the Right to Information Act, 2005, while dismissing a plea by former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking details of the Prime Minister’s educational qualifications.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Ray, in its September 29 ruling, said the fact that the information concerned the Prime Minister did not by itself bring it within the scope of public interest or larger public interest contemplated as an exception to the exemptions under Sections 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.
Sections 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j) permit public authorities to withhold information involving fiduciary relationships and personal information protected by privacy considerations.
CIC Directions Found Contrary To RTI Exemptions
The court examined directions issued by the Central Information Commission requiring the Prime Minister’s Office to provide the specific number and year of the Prime Minister’s degree and postgraduate degree to Delhi University and Gujarat University so that the universities could locate and provide the relevant records.
It held that the directions requiring the public information officers of the two universities to search for and furnish documents relating to the degrees were directly hit by the exemptions under Sections 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j).
The bench said none of the information ordered to be disclosed could be considered necessary in public interest or larger public interest.
Information Already In Public Domain Not Relevant
The High Court also said that the CIC’s observation that information concerning the Prime Minister’s educational degree was already in the public domain had no bearing on the statutory obligations governing disclosure under the RTI Act.
According to the court, the existence of such information in the public domain did not determine whether a public authority was required to disclose it under the Act.
Public Office Does Not Remove Privacy Protection
The bench further held that a public servant does not lose protection over personal information merely because he holds public office.
It said that even a public servant, as a citizen, cannot be compelled to disclose personal information simply because of the office he occupies, unless there is a legal obligation requiring such disclosure or the public authority holding the information is required to disclose it under the RTI Act.
The High Court consequently rejected the plea seeking disclosure of details relating to Prime Minister Modi’s educational qualifications.
