The Delhi High Court heard appeals seeking details of PM Narendra Modi’s educational qualifications, with SG Tushar Mehta agreeing to file objections on delay. The case, led by AAP’s Sanjay Singh and others, will be heard next on January 16.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday heard a batch of appeals asking for the disclosure of information about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational qualifications.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela has considered the matter, which has been filed under the case title Sanjay Singh v. University of Delhi & Anr. (LPA-686/2025).
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During the hearing, advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for the appellant, said that there are
“two issues — first, whether exemption under Section 8 of the RTI Act applies and second, even if it does, whether the disclosure is justified in larger public interest.”
The Bench, while hearing the matter, pointed out that
“there seems to be a delay in filing the appeal.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for Delhi University, responded by saying,
“Instead of issuing notice, I’ll file my reply including on the issue of delay.”
The Bench then asked,
“Do you wish to file any objection on delay?”
To this, the Solicitor General replied,
“I haven’t gone through the reasons yet, but I have no hesitation in arguing on the merits.”
The court further inquired,
“Have you made CBSE a party? In one of the matters, details of Class 10 and 12 marksheets have also been sought that’s why we asked.”
The Bench then passed an order stating that Solicitor General Mehta will file objections on the condonation of delay, and the appellants will file their response. The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for January 16.
Background
Earlier, four appeals were filed before the Delhi High Court seeking the disclosure of information related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational degree.
These appeals challenged the decision of a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court which, on August 25, 2024, had cancelled the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) 2016 order directing Delhi University to share details of the Prime Minister’s degree.
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The Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela is now hearing the appeals filed by AAP leader Sanjay Singh, RTI activist Neeraj Sharma, and advocate Mohd Irshad.
The controversy began back in 2016, when former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned Prime Minister Modi’s educational qualifications and asked him to “come clean about his educational degrees” and “make them public.”
According to the election affidavit submitted by PM Modi, he completed his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science from Delhi University in 1978.
The issue first arose when RTI activist Neeraj Sharma, in 2015, filed a Right to Information (RTI) application asking for details of all BA degrees awarded by Delhi University in 1978. However, the university refused to provide the information, calling it “private” and stating that it had “nothing to do with public interest.”
Unhappy with this denial, Sharma approached the Central Information Commission (CIC) in December 2016.
In response, Information Commissioner Prof. M. Acharyulu passed an order directing Delhi University to make the register containing the list of students who passed the BA programme in 1978 public.
Following this, on January 23, 2017, Delhi University filed a petition before the Delhi High Court challenging the CIC’s order.
The High Court then issued notice to Neeraj Sharma and stayed the CIC order after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the decision could have “far-reaching adverse consequences” because all universities in India hold degree records of crores of students “in a fiduciary capacity.”
After several years of proceedings, Justice Sachin Datta of the Delhi High Court delivered his judgment on August 25, 2024.
He set aside the CIC order and agreed with the University’s argument that there was no public interest in disclosing the Prime Minister’s academic records.
Justice Datta observed that
“the marksheets/ results/ degree certificates/ academic records of any individual, even if that individual is a holder of a public office, are in the nature of personal information,”
and therefore, such information is exempt from disclosure under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
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The Court also held that the CIC’s 2016 direction to disclose the Prime Minister’s degree was contrary to the principle that personal information, even of public figures, is protected unless there is a larger public interest involved.
The case will now continue in January, as the court decides whether the issue of delay can be condoned and whether the appeals have merit under the RTI law.
Case Title:
Sanjay Singh v. University of Delhi & Anr.
(LPA-686/2025).
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