Ahmedabad: The Central Information Commission (CIC) had issued an order directing Gujarat University (GU) to furnish information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s MA degree under RTI Act to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
Hearing GU’s petition against CIC’s order, Gujarat High Court on Thursday reserved its verdict after hearing arguments by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior Advocate Percy Kavina, who is representing Kejriwal.
Kejriwal had written to CIC urging it to make public details of Modi’s educational qualifications. He had argued that Modi’s degree should be brought in public domain to eliminate any confusion over the issue.
Mehta told the court that the PM’s degree is in public domain, but there is no obligation under the RTI for it to be disclosed to any third person.
“Universities cannot be compelled to disclose degrees, especially when there is no public interest in question,” the Solicitor General said.
“Under the RTI, information of a private nature can be disclosed only when it is related to public activity through some way. If the person himself wants his/her own degree from the University, he/she can demand the same, but a third person can’t demand the same,” Mehta further argued.
Kejriwal’s lawyer Kavina asked why the university had moved high court when the direction was issued to the Public Information Officer of PMO’s office, which has not challenged the order.
Disclosure of educational qualifications of an election candidate is mandated by law, Kavina stated.
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