Delhi High Court gives Delhi University 3 weeks to reply in PM Modi degree case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed Delhi University to respond to pleas seeking condonation of delay in filing appeals against a single-judge order that had set aside the disclosure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bachelor’s degree details.

A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela granted the university three weeks to file its objections. The appellants will get two weeks thereafter to respond. The court has listed the matter for further hearing on January 16, 2026.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared on behalf of Delhi University. The bench was informed that the appeals challenging the single judge’s August 25 order were filed after a delay.


The appeals were filed by RTI activist Neeraj, Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh, and advocate Mohd Irshad, contesting the earlier order that had overturned a 2016 Central Information Commission (CIC) directive to disclose Modi’s degree details.

In August, the single judge had ruled that just because the Prime Minister holds public office, it does not mean all his personal information must be disclosed. The court said there was no “implicit public interest” in the information sought and that the RTI Act was meant to promote transparency in governance, “not to provide fodder for sensationalism.”

The CIC’s 2016 order had allowed inspection of Delhi University’s records of students who cleared the BA exam in 1978, the year Modi reportedly graduated. The single judge had called the CIC’s approach “thoroughly misconceived,” noting that educational qualifications are not a statutory requirement for holding public office.

The same order had also set aside a CIC directive asking the CBSE to provide copies of former Union minister Smriti Irani’s Class 10 and 12 records.

(With inputs from PTI)