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1h ago

Delhi High Court Quashes CIC Order on Disclosure of PM Modi’s DU Degree Records

The court held the 1978 BA register to be personal information held in fiduciary trust, with mere curiosity about a public figure’s education falling short of the RTI public‑interest test.

The court said that the CIC's directive to the private school over the concerned public functionary's records was completely de-hors the provisions of the RTI Act.
As per Justice Sachin Datta's order from HC, there need not be any disclosure of the academic record and degree
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Overview

  • Justice Sachin Datta set aside the CIC’s December 2016 directive that had allowed inspection of Delhi University’s 1978 BA records, which included entries from the year Narendra Modi graduated.
  • Delhi University, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, argued that student data is protected under RTI Sections 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j) and that the right to privacy outweighs a generalized right to know.
  • The university told the bench it would show the records to the court if required but opposed placing them in the public domain for scrutiny by outsiders.
  • The CIC order had treated the university register as a public document and directed release of names, roll numbers, fathers’ names and marks for the 1978 cohort.
  • A detailed written judgment is awaited after the verdict, which follows a High Court stay issued in January 2017, and the parties may seek review by the Supreme Court.