The Delhi High Court on Monday set aside a Central Information Commission order directing Delhi University to disclose information about the Bachelor of Arts degree attained by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Live Law reported.

The university had said that the information panel’s order was liable to be set aside, arguing that the Right to Information application was politically motivated.

Justice Sachin Datta allowed the petition filed by the university against a 2017 order issued by the Central Information Commission directing it to furnish information related to Modi’s degree to a Right to Information applicant.

“CIC order is set aside,” Bar and Bench quoted Datta as saying.

On February 28, Datta had reserved his verdict on the university’s plea.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the university, had contended that it holds details of students’ degrees and marksheets only in a “fiduciary capacity” and that they were constituted personal information.

Fiduciary capacity refers to an arrangement in which an organisation or individual is trusted to manage property for another entity.

On the other hand, the applicant, Neeraj Kumar, argued that educational details are public information, often shared on noticeboards and newspapers.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed that Modi was awarded a BA degree from Delhi University in 1978 and a Master of Arts degree from Gujarat University in 1983. Critics and the Opposition Aam Aadmi Party have alleged that the degrees are fabricated.

The case

Kumar, a Right to Information activist, had sought details about students from Delhi University’s BA programme in 1978, including their roll numbers, marks and if they passed or failed the course.

The university’s central public information officer denied the request on the grounds that it was “third party information”. The activist then moved the Central Information Commission.

In 2016, the commission ordered the university to release the information. It ruled that Delhi University was a public body and all information related to its degrees was available in the institution’s register, which is a public document.

Also read: Modi’s marksheet: Five reasons why Delhi University must not stonewall RTI inquiries on the subject

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