The Delhi High Court will on September 29 hear appeals concerning the disclosure of records related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bachelor’s degree, with petitioners challenging an earlier ruling that set aside a Central Information Commission (CIC) order permitting access to the records. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia fixed the date on Thursday. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing Delhi University, sought an earlier hearing, but the Bench said the matter would be taken up on September 29.
Appeals challenge 2025 order
The appeals have been filed by RTI activist Neeraj, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh and advocate Mohd Irshad. They challenge a single-judge judgment delivered on August 25, 2025, which overturned the CIC’s direction relating to records of students who passed Delhi University’s BA examination in 1978.
Modi is stated to have completed his bachelor’s degree from Delhi University that year.
The controversy originated with an application under the Right to Information Act seeking information concerning university records. In December 2016, the CIC permitted inspection of records relating to students who had cleared the BA examination in 1978.
Delhi University subsequently challenged the direction before the High Court. The university maintained that while it had no objection to producing the relevant records before the court, such information should not automatically be made available through an RTI request.
Court had cited privacy
In its August 2025 judgment, the single judge ruled that holding public office does not by itself make all personal information concerning an individual subject to public disclosure.
The court also rejected the contention that there was an implicit public interest requiring the records to be disclosed. It observed that the RTI Act was intended to promote transparency in government functioning rather than facilitate demands for personal information merely because an individual occupies public office.
The judgment further noted that educational qualifications are not a statutory prerequisite for holding the office of Prime Minister or performing its constitutional responsibilities.
The court indicated that the position could have been different had a particular educational qualification been legally prescribed as an eligibility condition for the office concerned.
Division Bench to examine challenge
The single judge had delivered a common judgment covering six petitions, including Delhi University’s challenge to the CIC order, and described the information commission’s approach while directing disclosure as misconceived.
The pending appeals will now require the Division Bench to examine whether that reasoning should stand and whether the requested university records can be accessed under the RTI framework.
The case raises a wider question concerning the boundary between transparency and privacy when information is sought about individuals holding high public office.
When the matter returns on September 29, the High Court will consider the challenges to the single-judge decision rather than independently determine the authenticity or validity of Modi’s educational qualification.