Delhi High Court Sets Aside CIC Order on PM Modi’s Degree, Rules DU Not Bound to Disclose Records

The court sided with Delhi University, agreeing that student records cannot be disclosed under the RTI Act based on mere curiosity. The ruling brings to a close a years-long legal dispute that was a subject of political debate.

August 25, 2025: In a significant verdict, the Delhi High Court on Monday set aside a Central Information Commission (CIC) order that had directed Delhi University to disclose information on the bachelor’s degree of PM Modi. The ruling, delivered by Justice Sachin Datta, came on a plea by Delhi University challenging the 2016 CIC directive.

The legal battle began with an RTI application filed by one Neeraj, which led the CIC to order an inspection of records for all students who cleared the BA exam in 1978, the year PM Modi also graduated. The Delhi High Court had previously stayed this order in January 2017.

Representing Delhi University, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the university holds student information in a “fiduciary capacity” and that “mere curiosity,” in the absence of a larger public interest, did not warrant disclosing such private records. Mehta clarified that while the university had a degree from 1978 and was willing to show it to the court, it could not be disclosed to the public under the RTI law.

Conversely, the counsel for the RTI applicants contended that a public official’s educational information should be made available in the greater public good. The court, however, sided with Delhi University, ruling that the CIC’s order deserved to be set aside.

This verdict concludes a long-standing legal dispute that has been a subject of political debate for several years.