Gujarat HC Rejects Kejriwal's Plea Seeking PM Modi's Degree Details Under RTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree details are personal information exempt from disclosure under the Right to Information Act, the Gujarat High Court ruled on Tuesday, dismissing a plea by former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking details of the prime minister’s educational qualifications.

The September 29 ruling was delivered by a bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Ray. The bench held that the information sought could not be disclosed merely because it related to the Prime Minister of India. It also held that there was no public interest, much less larger public interest, warranting disclosure of the prime minister’s educational qualifications.

RTI Exemptions Applied

The bench said Sections 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005, protected the information sought. These provisions allow public authorities to deny disclosure of information concerning fiduciary relationships and personal privacy.

The judges held that personal information about the prime minister’s educational degrees did not automatically fall within the scope of the public interest or larger public interest exceptions to these provisions.

The court said the fact that information about the prime minister’s educational degree was already in the public domain, as noted by the Central Information Commission (CIC), had no relevance to the obligations under the RTI Act.

It further held that none of the information sought could be considered necessary for disclosure in the public interest or larger public interest.

Orders To Universities

The ruling dealt with directions issued by the Information Commissioner, requiring the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to provide the specific number and year of the degree and postgraduate degree to the Delhi University and Gujarat University offices so that the universities could search for and provide the related documents.

The Information Commissioner had also directed the Public Information Officers of Delhi University and Gujarat University, the original petitioner, to search for information on the degrees and provide it to the appellant.

The High Court held that these directions were “directly hit by Section 8(1)(e) and (j) of the RTI Act, 2005”.

The bench also said that even a public servant, being a citizen of the country, could not be compelled to disclose personal information merely because they hold public office or are a public servant.

It said such disclosure could not be required unless there was an obligation on the individual to disclose the information or the public authority holding the information was required to disclose it under the RTI Act, 2005.