Gujarat High Court dismisses Kejriwal appeal over PM Modi degree disclosure

The Gujarat High Court has dismissed an appeal by Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal regarding the disclosure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic degree. The ruling upholds a previous decision that quashed a Central Information Commission (CIC) direction requiring Gujarat University to release information about the Prime Minister's educational qualifications.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Ray found no error in the March 2023 single-judge order. The court also upheld a ₹25,000 cost imposed on Kejriwal, noting that the Right to Information (RTI) provisions had been approached casually and misused.

The court observed that the CIC acted without authority by taking “suo motu” cognizance of a letter written by Kejriwal during an RTI appeal process. The bench stated that no larger public interest required seeking the educational qualifications of the Prime Minister, as he is an elected representative and his academic background has no bearing on his eligibility for the constitutional post.