No Need to Disclose PM Modi's Degree: Delhi High Court

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Delhi High Court on Monday gave a major decision in the case related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's graduation (BA) degree. The court has canceled the seven-year-old order of the Central Information Commission (CIC), in which Delhi University (DU) was directed to make public the information related to PM Modi's 1978 degree.

Justice Sachin Dutta's court gave this verdict while accepting the petition of Delhi University. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared on behalf of DU, had argued that someone's personal information cannot be sought under RTI on the basis of mere curiosity and this is a violation of the right to privacy. The court considered this argument important and rejected the order of the CIC.

This case is of 2016 when a person named Neeraj had sought information about PM Modi's degree through RTI. On this, the Central Information Commission (CIC) on 21 December 2016 allowed Delhi University to investigate the records of all the students who passed BA in 1978. Delhi University challenged this order in the High Court, after which in January 2017 the High Court stayed the CIC order. After a long hearing, the court reserved its decision on 27 February this year, on which the final decision was given today.