The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Thursday (February 27) has reserved its verdict on a plea filed by Delhi University (DU) challenging a Central Information Commission (CIC) order to disclose information about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bachelor’s degree. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for DU, stated that while DU has no objection to showing PM Modi’s degree to the court, it cannot be disclosed to the public.
Mehta emphasised that the right to know is not absolute and that personal information cannot be sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. He argued that the CIC’s order is liable to be set aside, Live Law reported.
Mehta also argued that allowing strangers to access degree information could lead to a flood of requests and intimidate university officers. He cited the Supreme Court’s Puttaswamy case, which established that the right to privacy supersedes the right to know.
During the hearing, Mehta mentioned that he does not “trust the motive and intentions” of the information seekers while adding that he has “no reservation” in showing the degree to the court, “but will not expose it to the scrutiny of strangers,” The Indian Express reported.
“…in principle such information cannot be sought. This is not the object for which RTI (Act) has been envisioned…The authority will have to decide what is your interest, you’re trying to use it for political purpose…We have it but we will not share…there are quite a few free people in this world who will seek one information or another,” Mehta was quoted as saying by IE.
The solicitor general also said that there is a degree from 1978, confirming Prime Minister Modi’s bachelor of arts degree.
Earlier, Mehta had argued that “mere curiosity” is not enough to justify disclosing personal information under the RTI Act.
Also read: PM Modi’s Degree | ‘RTI Can’t Be to Satisfy Third Party’s Curiosity,’ Delhi University Tells HC
“Here is a case where a stranger walks into the RTI office of University and says, out of 10 lakh students, give me degree of X. The question is whether anyone can walk in and ask for degrees of others?” Mehta was quoted as saying by Live Law.
On the other hand, senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, representing RTI applicant Neeraj Kumar, had argued that the information sought is normally published by universities and is therefore in the public domain. Hegde opposed Mehta’s submission that student information is held in a fiduciary capacity and cannot be disclosed to strangers.
Justice Sachin Datta has reserved the verdict.
The plea was filed in 2017, and the order was stayed on the first date of hearing.
Kumar filed an application in 2016 seeking the results of all students who appeared in the BA programme in 1978, including Prime Minister Modi. The CIC had then ordered DU to disclose the information, stating that matters related to education of a student (current/former) fall under the public domain.
In March 2023, the Gujarat high court had quashed another 2016 directive of the CIC asking it to provide details of Modi’s educational qualifications to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.