Delhi HC Flags Delay in Appeals Over Disclosure of Modi’s Degree Details

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday raised concerns over the delay by four petitioners in filing appeals seeking the disclosure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational degree details. The Court said it would first examine the reasons for the delay before considering the merits of the case.

 

The appeals, filed by Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh, RTI activist Neeraj Sharma, and advocate Mohd Irshad, challenge a single-judge bench’s August 25 order that set aside a 2016 directive from the Central Information Commission (CIC) requiring Delhi University (DU) to disclose information on PM Modi’s degree.

 

Senior advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for one of the appellants, said the case raises two central questions — whether the exemption under Section 8 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act applies, and if so, whether the degree’s disclosure still serves a larger public interest.

 

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that the appeals were filed beyond the limitation period and directed DU to submit its objections on the delay.

 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing DU, told the court he had yet to review the petitioners’ reasons for the delay but expressed readiness to argue the matter on merits.

 

The bench allowed DU three weeks to file its objections and permitted the appellants to respond thereafter. The case will next be heard on January 16, 2026.

 

The single-judge ruling by Justice Sachin Datta had overturned the CIC directive, holding that there was no public interest in disclosing the Prime Minister’s academic records. He said that mark sheets and degree certificates, even of public officials, constitute personal information exempt from disclosure under the RTI Act.

 

The controversy dates back to 2016, when then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged PM Modi to make his educational qualifications public. Modi’s election affidavit states he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Delhi University in 1978.

 

Neeraj Sharma had filed an RTI request the previous year seeking records of all BA degrees awarded by DU in 1978. The University refused, citing privacy concerns. Sharma then appealed to the CIC, which ordered DU to make the register of BA graduates from that year public.

 

DU challenged the order in 2017, and the High Court stayed its implementation after SG Mehta argued that universities hold student data in a fiduciary capacity and that public disclosure could have broad implications.

 

The single-judge order quashing the CIC directive earlier this year prompted the current appeals now under the High Court’s consideration.


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