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New Delhi: Amid growing criticism of Narendra Modi\u2019s qualification to head the Indian government \u2014 particularly after his May debacle and the imposition of US tariffs\u2014the Delhi High Court has blocked public access to his educational records, quashing a 2016 order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that had permitted inspection of his B.A. degree details from Delhi University.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, Justice Sachin Dutta of the Delhi High Court ruled that \u201csomething of interest to the public is different from something in the public interest,\u201d as he struck down the CIC\u2019s directive that would have allowed an RTI activist to examine Delhi University\u2019s 1978 records \u2014 the year Modi allegedly graduated.<\/p>\n
The court also set aside the CIC\u2019s order directing the CBSE to disclose the Class X and XII records of BJP leader Smriti Irani, saying there was \u201cno implicit public interest\u201d in the information sought.<\/p>\n
Observers note that Modi has given conflicting statements about his academic qualifications, raising serious questions over why the government is reluctant to verify the prime minister\u2019s claims. Civil society activists argue that the refusal undermines transparency and accountability in public life, particularly when leaders themselves demand high standards of scrutiny from others.<\/p>\n
Legal experts warn the judgment sets a precedent shielding influential figures from legitimate questions of public accountability, reducing the Right to Information Act to a hollow mechanism when applied to those in power.<\/p>\n
The Delhi University had contended that the information sought was \u201cpersonal data\u201d of students, held in a fiduciary capacity, and disclosure could have \u201cfar-reaching adverse consequences.\u201d The High Court upheld this argument, despite widespread demands that elected leaders must not hide behind technicalities to avoid public scrutiny.<\/p>\n
Critics say the ruling reflects the Modi regime\u2019s broader culture of secrecy and evasion, where instead of fostering openness, institutions are increasingly used to protect those in power while denying ordinary citizens their right to know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi: Amid growing criticism of Narendra Modi\u2019s qualification to head the Indian government \u2014 particularly after his May debacle and the imposition of US tariffs\u2014the Delhi High Court has blocked public access to his educational records, quashing a 2016 order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that had permitted inspection of his B.A. degree …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":182084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-182083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182083\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}