Smriti Irani degree row: Delhi HC sets aside CIC order; calls it ‘thoroughly misconceived’

Smriti Irani (PTI photo)

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Monday set aside order directing CBSE to provide information under the Right To Information (RTI) about whether Smriti Irani had cleared her 10th and 12th examinations in the year 1991 and 1993.Justice Sachin Dutta ruled that the entire approach of the Central Information Commission (CIC) in the impugned order was “thoroughly misconceived”.”The conclusion that information relating to degree/marks/results of any particular individual is in the nature of ‘public information’, is in direct and utter contravention of the judgment of the Supreme Court in Central Public Information Officer, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal (supra),” the bench ruled according to Bar & Bench.Irani’s degrees sparked controversy after a petitioner alleged that she had given contradictory information in her affidavits filed before contesting elections in 2004, 2011 and 2014. In her affidavit for the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, Irani had said she completed her BA in 1996 from DU (School of Correspondence as SOL was then called), whereas in another affidavit on July 11, 2011 to contest Rajya Sabha election from Gujarat, she had said her highest educational qualification was BCom Part I, a petitioner had alleged in court. Earlier, the court also quashed CIC’s order that had directed disclosure of details regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bachelor’s degree. Justice Datta gave the judgment, which had been reserved on February 27, after hearing a petition filed by Delhi University against the CIC order. The case began with an RTI request filed by a man named Neeraj. In December 2016, the CIC had allowed people to inspect the records of all students who passed the BA exam in 1978, the same year PM Modi completed his graduation. The Delhi high court had earlier put a stay on the CIC order on January 23, 2017. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing Delhi University (DU), argued that the CIC order should be cancelled. He said the university had no problem showing the records to the court itself. “University has no objection in showing the record to the court. There is a degree from 1978, Bachelor of Arts,” Mehta stated.