PM Degree Row: Delhi HC Reserves Verdict On DU Plea Against Info Disclosure

The Delhi High Court, on Thursday, reserved its judgment regarding Delhi University’s petition contesting the Central Information Commission’s directive mandating the disclosure of records related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bachelor of Arts degree.

Justice Sachin Datta, presiding over the proceedings, remarked, “Arguments heard. Judgment reserved.”

Representing DU, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contended that the CIC’s directive warranted reversal. However, he clarified that DU had no objection to presenting the records before the court. “The university has no objection to showing the record to the court. There is a degree from 1978, Bachelor of Arts,” Mehta affirmed.

The legal dispute arose from an RTI application filed by Neeraj, leading the CIC, on December 21, 2016, to permit the inspection of academic records of all students who completed the BA program in 1978—the same year Prime Minister Modi graduated.

In response, the Delhi High Court issued an interim stay on the CIC directive on January 23, 2017.

On February 11, DU argued that the requested information was held in a fiduciary capacity and that “mere curiosity”—absent demonstrable public interest—was insufficient to justify the disclosure of personal academic records under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The university further criticized what it perceived as the indiscriminate use of the RTI mechanism, asserting that it risked being “reduced to a joke” by permitting sweeping requests for details on all students who had passed the BA examination in 1978, including the Prime Minister.