New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to expedite the hearing of a case related to the RTI information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Graduation Degree. The court has listed the matter for hearing on October 13.
Justice Subramaniam Prasad was hearing an application seeking an early hearing of a petition filed by the University of Delhi in 2017, challenging an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that allowed the university to disclose information related to the University in 1978. It was directed to allow inspection of the records of the students passing the BA programme.
Prime Minister Modi is also stated to have passed the BA of Delhi University examination in 1978. The order was stayed on the first date of hearing on January 24, 2017. The court had issued notice on an urgent hearing application filed by RTI activist Neeraj Kumar. Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, representing Neeraj Kumar, told the court that the matter was pending for a long time, so a quick hearing is necessary.
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Justice Prasad refused to grant an early hearing and said, "The matter is listed in October. Take it from me, it will be disposed of then, provided I continue in the roster. It does not impress why it (preponing) should be done." The bench issued notice on the application on the date already fixed in the matter.
RTI activist Neeraj Kumar had filed an RTI application seeking information on roll number, name, marks and passed or failed results of all the students who appeared in BA in 1978. This information was denied by the DU's Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) on the ground that it is related to a third party. After this, the RTI activist filed an appeal before the CIC.
The CIC had passed an order directing the university to allow the inspection of records. It said that the information sought is available in the university's private register, a public document. The University had challenged this order before the Delhi High Court. (With Agency Inputs)
