New Delhi, February 10 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted three weeks' time to Delhi University to file its objection to the delay in appealing against an order refusing to disclose details of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bachelor's degree.
Appearing for the university, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that "there was nothing substantive in the matter" and it was "only intended to create sensationalism". He sought time to file a response on both the aspect of the delay in filing appeals challenging the single judge's order passed in August 2025, as well as on the merits of the case.
"As prayed, three weeks' time is granted to file an objection to the application seeking condonation of delay," said a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, and listed the matter for hearing on April 27.
The senior counsel, appearing for the appellant, said that objections had not been filed even after two and a half months of the court permitting Delhi University (DU) to do so. He added that the delay was "minor," lasting between 15 and 45 days, and the court could condone it.
He also pressed for the issuance of a formal notice in the matter if DU wanted to respond to the main appeals. "A notice can only be issued to sensationalize something," SG Mehta said. Appeals have been filed challenging a single judge's order, which had overturned a Central Information Commission (CIC) decision directing the disclosure of Prime Minister Modi's degree.
The appellants before the division bench are RTI activist Neeraj, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh, and advocate Mohd Irshad.
On August 25, 2025, the single judge had overturned the CIC order, stating that the fact that Prime Minister Modi held a public office did not require him to disclose all his "personal information" to the public.
The judge ruled that there was no "implicit public interest" in the information sought, and that the Right to Information (RTI) Act was enacted to promote transparency in government functioning and "not to provide fodder for sensationalism".
Following an RTI application by one Neeraj, the CIC on December 21, 2016, allowed inspection of the records of all students who cleared the BA exam in 1978 – the year Prime Minister Modi also passed it.
The single judge had passed the combined order in six petitions, including the one filed by the Delhi University, challenging the CIC by which the university was directed to disclose the details related to Prime Minister Modi's bachelor's degree.
The university's counsel had sought the CIC order to be set aside, but said the varsity had no objection to showing its records to the court. The single judge had opined that the educational qualifications were not in the nature of any statutory requirement for holding any public office or discharging official responsibilities.
The situation might have been different had educational qualifications been a prerequisite for eligibility to a specific public office, the judge had said, calling the CIC's approach "thoroughly misconceived".
The high court had also overturned the CIC order, which directed the CBSE to provide copies of Class 10 and 12 records of former Union minister Smriti Irani.
