Shillong: The Gujarat High Court rejected an appeal from Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday. Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Ray upheld a 2023 order quashing a Central Information Commission directive that required Gujarat University to reveal Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic degree. The bench also confirmed the 25,000 rupee cost slapped on Kejriwal.
The court found no fault in the original judgment. The case remains closed. "In the totality of facts and circumstances of the present case, no error on any of the submissions of the appellant hearing can be found in the judgment impugned," the court stated.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented Kejriwal. He argued his client did not persistently seek the degree and claimed the Commission started proceedings on its own, not through a formal RTI request. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta countered for the university. He alleged Kejriwal defamed the institution and used the RTI Act to waste public time.
The dispute started in 2016. Arvind Kejriwal wrote to the commission asking why the Prime Minister’s qualifications were hidden. Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu initially ordered the release of records from Gujarat and Delhi universities. Gujarat University fought back immediately. They labeled the request an example of irresponsible childish curiosity rather than public interest. Former vice-chancellor M N Patel previously stated the Prime Minister finished an MA in Political Science in 1983.
The university eventually posted the degree online. Kejriwal challenged the accuracy of that posting, but the court dismissed his claims. The High Court finished hearing the appeal on September 25 before issuing the final ruling four days later.
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