The Delhi High Court on Monday set aside the order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), which had directed the University of Delhi (DU) to disclose the information on the bachelor’s degree of PM Narendra Modi. Justice Sachin Dutta set aside this order while hearing DU’s plea challenging it.
Justice Dutta had reserved the order on February 27.
What is the case?
An RTI application was filed by one Neeraj, seeking the result of all the students who appeared in BA in 1978 along with their roll number, name, marks and result pass or failed. Responding to the query, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the DU denied the information on the ground it qualified as “third party information,” reported Live Law.
Neeraj then challenged the order before the CIC and the body, on December 21, 2016, allowed the inspection of records of all students who cleared the BA exam in 1978 – the year when PM Modi also passed the college.
“Having examined the case, the synonymous legislations and previous decisions, the Commission states that matters relating to education of a student (current/former) fall under the public domain and hence order the relevant public authority to disclose information accordingly,” the CIC said in its 2016 order, quoted Live Law.
DU challenges order in HC
The Delhi University challenged CIC’s order in Delhi HC, and the high court stayed the CIC order on January 24, 2017, on the first day of hearing.
As for the latest, arguing for DU, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the CIC’s order deserved to be set aside. He, however, added that the Delhi University had no objection showing its record to the court.
“University has no objection in showing the record to the court. There is a degree from 1978, bachelor of art,” he said, quoted the report.
DU’s ground to challenge the CIC was that it held the information of students in a fiduciary capacity and “mere curiosity” in the absence of public interest did not entitle anyone to seek private information under the RTI law.