The Delhi High Court on Thursday, February 27 reserved its verdict on Delhi University’s plea challenging the Central Information Commission (CIC) order directing the disclosure of information concerning the bachelor’s degree of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Arguments heard. Judgement reserved,” said Justice Sachin Datta after hearing the parties.
The solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for DU, said the order of the CIC deserved to be set aside.
Mehta, however, said DU had no objection to showing the record to the court.
“The university has no objection to showing the record to the court. There is a degree from 1978, a bachelor of arts,” Mehta said.
DU on February 11 argued that it held the information in a fiduciary capacity and “mere curiosity” in the absence of public interest did not entitle anyone to seek private information under RTI law.
The RTI Act, it said, was reduced to a “joke” with queries seeking records of all students who passed the BA examination in 1978, including the Prime Minister.
Activist seeks Delhi University exam results from year of PM Modi’s graduation
The controversy began when activist Neeraj Kumar sought results of all students who appeared for the BA exam in 1978, including their roll numbers, names, marks and pass/fail status. Delhi University’s central public information officer (CPIO) had denied the request, citing the information as “third-party” data.
Kumar then appealed to the CIC, which also ruled in favour of disclosing the information.
In its 2016 ruling, the CIC argued that educational records are public domain, and the information about students’ results should be disclosed, as universities are public bodies and their records are part of public documents.
At the 2017 hearing, Delhi University had no issue providing the total number of students who appeared, passed, or failed, but opposed disclosing detailed personal information such as roll numbers, names, and marks, claiming such details were exempt under the RTI Act as they were held in fiduciary capacity.
(With inputs of PTI)
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