Delhi HC Rules In Favour Of DU, Turns Down CIC Directive On PM Modi’s Degree

The Delhi High Court on Monday overturned a Central Information Commission directive that required Delhi University to disclose details of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bachelor’s degree.

Justice Sachin Datta pronounced the verdict, with the full judgment awaited. The court was hearing DU’s 2017 petition challenging the CIC order, which had allowed inspection of BA results from 1978, the year Modi is said to have graduated. The order had been stayed since January 24, 2017.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing DU, argued that while the university could show the records to the court, it could not make them available to the public. He maintained that information on students is held in a fiduciary capacity and cannot be accessed merely out of curiosity.

Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, for RTI applicant Neeraj Kumar, countered that such information was historically displayed publicly, including on notice boards and in newspapers.

Kumar’s RTI request sought names, roll numbers, marks, and results of all students who took the 1978 BA exam. DU denied the request, calling it “third-party information.” The CIC, however, had ruled in 2016 that academic records of students fell within the public domain and directed disclosure.

DU maintained that while aggregate data could be shared, individual records—including names and marks—were private.

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