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Synopsis

The Gujarat High Court on Friday 'set aside' an order of the Chief Information Commission (CIC) and ruled that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) need not furnish the degree and post-graduate degree certificate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A bench of Justice Biren Vaishnav set aside the order of the Chief Information Commission (CIC) which had directed the public information officers (PIOs) of the PMO, Gujarat University, and Delhi University to provide details of Modi's graduate and postgraduate degrees.

The court was hearing an appeal filed by the Gujarat University challenging the CIC’s order of 2016. CIC had ordered Gujarat University to supply Modi’s MA degree obtained in 1983 and had also directed it to furnish his BA degree taken in 1978.

While setting aside the CIC’s 2016 order, the single-judge bench imposed costs of Rs. 25,000 on the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, for seeking details of the certificate of the PM’s degree through the RTI route. The court directed Kejriwal to deposit the same with the Gujarat State Legal Services Authority within four weeks.

While imposing cost on Arvind Kejriwal, the high court said, "despite the degree in question being put on the website of the petitioner University for all to see...despite the respondent never ever disputing the degree in question during hearings, he persisted with the matter. This is one more reason to impose costs while allowing this petition."

Further, regarding the CIC's decision, court said, "This Court fails to comprehend the justification or the legal foundation on the basis of which the Commission has arrived at the said finding".

Case Title: Gujarat University v. M. Sridhar Acharyulu (Madabhushi Sridhar)

Statue: The Right to Information Act