Ahmedabad, Sep 29 (IANS): The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday dismissed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal against the order that quashed a Central Information Commission (CIC) direction seeking disclosure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic degree by Gujarat University, while upholding the Rs 25,000 cost imposed on him.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Ray found no ground to interfere with the March 31, 2023 order of the single judge.

The bench said there was no error in the judgment under challenge and dismissed the appeal without imposing any further costs.

“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 appeal stands dismissed accordingly with no further order as to cost,” the court said.

The single judge had in March 2023 allowed Gujarat University’s challenge to the CIC’s 2016 direction and set aside the order requiring it to provide information concerning PM Modi’s educational qualifications.

The court had also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal, observing that the RTI provisions had been approached casually and had been misused.

During the appeal proceedings, Kejriwal’s counsel, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, challenged the basis for imposing the cost.

He argued that Kejriwal had not “persisted” in seeking PM Modi’s degree, contrary to the observation made by the single judge.

Singhvi also contended that the CIC had initiated the proceedings "suo motu" and had made Kejriwal a respondent on the basis of a letter rather than a formal RTI application.

Another issue before the court was Gujarat University’s submission that the degree was already available online.

Kejriwal’s lawyers had, in a review petition before the single judge, argued that the degree had never actually been uploaded on the university’s website, but the plea was rejected.

Singhvi argued that if the degree was indeed available online, presumably because the university had made it public in view of its importance, there would be no surviving cause of action under the Right to Information Act.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Gujarat University, opposed the appeal. He argued that Kejriwal had pursued the matter relentlessly and had also held press conferences which, according to the university, defamed the institution.

Mehta submitted that costs should be imposed to discourage misuse of the RTI Act and prevent government officials from spending productive working hours dealing with requests that did not serve the Act’s purpose.

The dispute dates back to 2016, when Kejriwal wrote to the CIC seeking disclosure of PM Modi’s degree and said he had no objection to government records concerning him being made public.

He questioned why information about PM Modi’s educational qualifications was being “hidden”.

In April 2016, then CIC M Sridhar Acharyulu directed Delhi University and Gujarat University to provide information concerning the degrees obtained by PM Modi.

Gujarat University subsequently approached the High Court, and the CIC direction was stayed. Gujarat University had strongly objected to the CIC proceedings, arguing that an individual’s “irresponsible childish curiosity” could not be treated as public interest under the RTI Act.

In 2016, then vice-chancellor M N Patel had said PM Modi had completed an MA in Political Science in 1983.

The university also put the degree on its website while challenging the CIC order before the High Court.

The single judge later quashed the CIC direction, criticised the commission for venturing into “judicial activism” and imposed the Rs 25,000 cost on Kejriwal. Kejriwal subsequently approached the division bench against that order.

The High Court had reserved its verdict on the appeal after completing the hearing on September 25.

The division bench’s September 29 order now upholds both the quashing of the CIC direction and the Rs 25,000 cost imposed on Kejriwal.

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This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.