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Delhi High Court Quashes CIC Order Seeking PM Modi’s DU Degree Records

The judge held DU’s 1978 BA registers to be personal information under RTI Section 8(1)(j), so disclosure would require a clear public-interest justification.

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 on 25 August set aside the CIC’s 2016 directive that had allowed inspection of Delhi University’s 1978 BA records, which the High Court had stayed since January 2017.
  • The court said academic records are held in a fiduciary capacity and fall within the RTI Act’s personal-information exemption, noting that public curiosity does not meet the larger public-interest test.
  • The judgment recorded that DU could produce the records for the court’s perusal but need not release them for scrutiny by third parties under RTI.
  • The court added that the position could be different where an educational qualification is a statutory prerequisite for holding a public office.
  • Applying the same reasoning, the bench also set aside a CIC order directing CBSE to confirm Smriti Irani’s Class X and XII results, and parties now have the option to approach the Supreme Court.