Archive · 1 Oct 2026
Gujarat High Court Upholds Privacy For Modi’s Degree
The Gujarat High Court considered whether Narendra Modi’s university degree had to be given to Arvind Kejriwal.
The court said the degree is personal information.
It ruled that being the prime minister does not automatically make private information public.
The court also said general curiosity is not enough to override privacy protections.
It upheld an earlier decision canceling the disclosure order.
The Central Information Commission had originally ordered Gujarat University and Delhi University to provide information about Modi’s degrees.
Gujarat University had already posted details of the degree on its website.
The court also upheld a Rs 25,000 cost imposed on Kejriwal.
The Gujarat High Court rejected Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal against a ruling quashing the CIC’s 2016 disclosure directive.
The division bench classified Narendra Modi’s educational degree as exempt personal information under Sections 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.
The court said public curiosity and Modi’s position as prime minister do not automatically establish a larger public interest.
The court upheld a Rs 25,000 cost imposed on Kejriwal and found no grounds to interfere with the single judge’s ruling.
Gujarat University had published details of Modi’s degree online while challenging the CIC’s order in court.
- Who
- The Gujarat High Court, Arvind Kejriwal, Narendra Modi, the Central Information Commission, and Gujarat University.
- What
- The court rejected Kejriwal’s appeal and upheld the cancellation of an order directing disclosure of Modi’s academic degree.
- When
- The ruling was passed on Tuesday, with details released on Wednesday; the reports are dated September 30.
- Where
- The case was heard by the Gujarat High Court and involved records held by Gujarat University.
- Why
- The court found the degree to be exempt personal information and said no public or larger public interest requiring disclosure had been established.
Disclosure Advocates
Privacy Defenders
Public interest and transparency
Disclosure Advocates
Kejriwal argued that Modi’s degree information should be public, particularly because Gujarat University had already uploaded it to its website.
Privacy Defenders
The High Court said public curiosity and the fact that Modi holds public office do not automatically amount to public or larger public interest.
Effect of online publication
Disclosure Advocates
Kejriwal’s lawyer argued that once the degree was displayed online, the question of whether the CIC order violated RTI exemptions no longer arose and Gujarat University had no continuing basis to challenge it.
Privacy Defenders
Gujarat University argued that the CIC order contravened the RTI Act and judicial precedent, and that requests not serving the law’s purpose should not burden officials.
Personal privacy under RTI
Disclosure Advocates
Kejriwal sought disclosure of records concerning Modi’s educational qualifications and challenged the cost imposed on him.
Privacy Defenders
The court held that the degree was exempt personal information and that disclosure should have been left to Modi’s discretion unless a larger public interest required it.
- Court decision
- The Gujarat High Court division bench rejected Kejriwal’s appeal.
- Information at issue
- Narendra Modi’s educational degree and related academic records.
- Legal provisions
- Sections 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
- Original CIC order
- In 2016, the Central Information Commission directed Delhi University and Gujarat University to provide information about Modi’s degrees.
- Cost upheld
- The court upheld a Rs 25,000 cost imposed on Kejriwal.
- Degree details published
- Gujarat University said Modi completed an MA in Political Science in 1983 with 62.3 per cent marks as an external student.
- Division bench
- Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice DN Ray issued the ruling.
