PM Degree Case: RTI Not For Satisfying Personal Curiosity, Delhi University Tells HC

The University of Delhi (DU) has challenged the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) 2016 order on disclosing details of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bachelor of Arts degree. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for DU before Justice Sachin Datta of the Delhi High Court, argued that the Right to Information (RTI) Act is not intended to satisfy third-party curiosity.

Mehta emphasized that student records are held by universities in a fiduciary capacity, meaning they are protected and cannot be disclosed to unrelated parties without a pressing public interest. “RTI cannot be used to satisfy someone’s curiosity,” Mehta stated, adding that revealing such personal information would be counterproductive and undermine administrative efficiency.

The case arose from a 2016 RTI plea by activist Neeraj, who sought access to records of all students who passed the BA exam in 1978, the year PM Modi reportedly graduated. The CIC directed DU to facilitate inspection of the register and provide details such as names, roll numbers, and marks obtained. However, the High Court stayed this order in 2017, and DU has since contested it as “arbitrary” and contrary to the RTI Act.

Mehta called the CIC’s directive “indiscriminate” and warned of its far-reaching consequences, saying, “Someone could demand data for 1979, 1964, or earlier—our university has existed since 1922.”

DU maintains that disclosing such records violates the RTI Act’s exemptions for third-party personal information, as no compelling public interest has been demonstrated. The petition argues that the CIC reduced the RTI process to a “joke” by entertaining broad requests for decades-old student data.

The case, which pits transparency against privacy, will next be heard in January.

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