The Central Information Commission has directed Delhi University officials to allow the inspection of records of students who had secured their BA degree in 1978, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s, PTI reported on Sunday. The commission dismissed DU Central Public Information Officer Meenakshi Sahay’s denial of a Right to Information query on the grounds that the information was personal, saying the rejection had “neither merit, nor legality”.
RTI applicant Neeraj had sought information on the number of students in DU’s BA course in 1978, including their names, father’s name, marks secured and results. Sahay had claimed that the details sought were “personal information of the students concerned, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest”.
Central Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said, “The public information officer has not put forward any evidence to show that disclosure of degree-related information infringes privacy,” PTI reported. Sahay, however, argued that with two lakh students in the BA programme, it was necessary to specify the subject as the information was not digitised.
In May 2016, the Aam Aadmi Party had alleged that Modi’s DU degree was fake. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had called on the varsity to post details of the prime minister’s qualification on its website. The Delhi chief minister had said a different Narendra Modi, not the prime minister, had earned a degree from DU. The registrar, however, had dismissed the allegations and said Modi’s BA degree was authentic.
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