New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday deferred its verdict on Delhi University’s plea challenging a Central Information Commission (CIC) order directing disclosure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bachelor’s degree details.
Justice Sachin Datta, who was scheduled to pronounce the judgment at 2:30 pm, did not preside. The verdict is now likely to be delivered on August 25.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing DU, argued that the CIC order should be quashed, stressing that the “right to privacy” outweighed the “right to know.” He added that while the university was ready to show Modi’s degree records to the court, it could not release them for “scrutiny by strangers” under the RTI Act.
The court has also reserved its decision on similar petitions, which will be pronounced together.
The matter stems from an RTI application filed by one Neeraj, after which the CIC, on December 21, 2016, allowed inspection of records of all students who cleared the BA examination in 1978 — the year Modi reportedly graduated. The high court stayed this order on January 23, 2017.
DU has maintained that student records are held in a fiduciary capacity and that “mere curiosity” does not amount to public interest under the RTI law. On the other hand, counsel for the RTI applicant defended the CIC’s directive, citing larger public good in disclosure of the Prime Minister’s educational qualifications.
