The Delhi High Court declared today, Monday, August 25, that educational qualifications, including degrees and marks, are considered "personal information" under Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act (RTI) and cannot be given solely to satisfy public curiosity.
The verdict came in response to a challenge to the Central Information Commission's (CIC) 2016 ruling requesting publication of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's undergraduate degree records from Delhi University. According to Justice Sachin Datta, "something which is of interest to the public" differs from "something which is in the public interest."
The Court ruled that, while citizens may be inquisitive about personal information of an individual's life, such curiosity does not outweigh the statutory confidentiality provisions, ANI reports.
It underlined that the RTI Act balances competing rights by allowing exemptions for confidential information, such as personal academic data.
The Court stated that Delhi University serves as the custodian of its students' records, which are protected by a genuine expectation of secrecy.
“The framework does not permit disclosure of marks or grades to any third party. There is an implicit duty of trust and confidentiality in handling students’ academic records,” the judgment stated.
It compared the university-student relationship to fiduciary relationships like doctor-patient or lawyer-client, which are characterised by trust, confidence, and a responsibility of care.
On these grounds, the High Court overturned the CIC's 2016 order, which required the institution to allow review of records for students who graduated in 1978, the year PM Modi allegedly completed his BA course.
The CIC had previously reasoned that university degree registers are public records accessible under RTI, a view the High Court rejected.
