DU says it cannot disclose details of 1978 exam, the year Modi claims to have graduated

The controversy over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree refuses to die down. The Delhi University (DU) on Wednesday submitted before the High Court that BA exam records of all its students of 1978, the year in which the varsity claims Prime Minister Narendra Modi had graduated, are held in a fiduciary capacity and cannot be disclosed under RTI.

The CIC had rejected the contention of the Central Public Information Officer of the University that it was a third party personal information, saying it finds "neither merit, nor legality" in it.

The submission was made by DU in an affidavit and they were responding to a petition filed by activists Anjali Bhardwaj, Nikhil Dey and Amrita Johri, seeking permission to be a part of the case.

The affidavit was filed by DU in a plea challenging a CIC direction allowing inspection of records of students who had passed the 1978 BA exam.

“Earlier, Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu had directed the DU to allow inspection of records related to all the students who had passed BA degree in 1978. The CIC had rejected the contention of the Central Public Information Officer of the University that it was a third party personal information, saying it finds “neither merit, nor legality” in it, reported the Outlook.

However, Chief Information Commissioner RK Mathur reassigned ministries and the Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu was relieved of the Ministry of HRD after reports of him ordering disclosure of records pertaining to students passing out BA course in 1978 came in public domain. An order was issued for reallocation of work among the information commissioners in January,” reported the Outlook.

During the hearing, Justice Rajiv Shakdher said DU will have to first seek recall of the court's earlier order closing its right to file a reply and thereafter, its submission may be taken on record.

The court also sought DU's response on an application filed by persons, claiming to be experts in relation to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, seeking to be a part of the proceedings.

With the direction, the court listed the matter for further hearing on May 22.

With inputs from PTI

The story and the headline were updated at 4.15 pm