PM degree case: Delhi HC junks plea for early hearing

DU had challenged CIC order to furnish information on Modi’s degree

NEW DELHI:  The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to advance the hearing of a petition by Delhi University (DU) challenging the Central Information Commission’s order directing the varsity to allow inspection of records of all students who had passed the BA exam in 1978, the year Prime Minister Narendra Modi had graduated from there.Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notice to DU on an application seeking early hearing in the case and listed it for October 13, the date already fixed in the main petition.

The high court had stayed the Commission’s order dated December 21, 2016 on January 23, 2017. Besides DU’s challenge to the Central Information Commission (CIC) order, the court was also hearing other petitions that raised similar legal issues pertaining to disclosure of details of results of certain examinations.

The CIC order was passed on activist Neeraj’s application under the RTI Act, seeking details related to students who had appeared for the Bachelor of Arts examination conducted by DU in 1978. During the hearing, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for Neeraj, submitted since the matter was pending for a long time, an early hearing was warranted. “The matter is listed in October. Take it from me, it will be disposed of then, provided I continue in the roster. It does not impress why it (rescheduling of the hearing date) should be done,” the judge said. 

In its challenge to the CIC order, DU has contended that the order of the RTI authority is arbitrary and untenable in law, as the information sought to be disclosed is third party personal information. It said in its plea that it was completely illegal for the CIC to direct the petitioner (DU) to disclose an information which is available to it in its fiduciary capacity, that too without rendering any finding pertaining to any pressing necessity or overwhelming public interest warranting disclosure of such information on account of overwhelming/larger public interest sought to be achieved through such disclosure.

Battle in the court

•  2016: CIC directed Delhi University and Gujarat University to provide Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal information on PM Modi’s educational qualifications. CIC also directed PMO to provide both universities with the “specific number and year” of the degrees Modi earned. DU had rejected an RTI request for information on Modi’s bachelor’s degree, claiming it is difficult to search for such records unless a student’s roll number is provided.
•  2017: Delhi University argued before Delhi HC that the RTI plea contained personal information of all the students who had perused in BA in 1978, and that the information was held in fiduciary capacity.
•  2018: DU moved Delhi HC opposing a plea by three RTI activists seeking details of students who cleared the varsity’s BA examination in 1978, when PM Modi is said to have finished his degree.
•  2019: The plea was clubbed with batch of similar pleas challenging interpretation of Sections 8(1)(e) and (j) of the RTI Act.
•  July 10, 2023: Petitioner submitted that since the matter was pending for a long time, an early hearing was warranted. The matter is listed in October. “Take it from me, it will be disposed of then, provided I continue in the roster. It does not impress why it (rescheduling of the hearing date) should be done,” the judge said.