Gujarat High Court Rejects Kejriwal’s Appeal Against ₹25,000 Cost In PM Modi Degree Case

The Gujarat High Court has dismissed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal challenging the ₹25,000 cost imposed on him in the case concerning the disclosure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree details.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice DN Ray rejected Kejriwal’s challenge to the March 2023 judgment of a single judge. The single judge had quashed a 2016 Central Information Commission (CIC) direction requiring Gujarat University to provide information concerning Modi’s degrees and imposed a ₹25,000 cost on Kejriwal.

What The Gujarat High Court Said

The division bench, while dismissing the appeal, found no error in the single judge’s judgment and also rejected Kejriwal’s application seeking a stay.

The court had earlier reserved its verdict on September 24 after hearing arguments from the parties. The case was then decided on September 29.

The court’s observations came in the context of proceedings involving the use of the Right to Information (RTI) Act to seek information about Modi’s educational degrees.

How The Case Began

The matter dates back to 2016, when the CIC directed the Prime Minister’s Office and Gujarat University to provide information concerning degrees in the name of Narendra Damodar Modi.

The proceedings originated after Kejriwal wrote to the CIC while responding to an ongoing matter, raising questions about transparency and Modi’s educational qualifications. The CIC subsequently treated his response as an RTI application and directed the disclosure of degree-related information.

Gujarat University challenged the CIC’s order before the Gujarat High Court.

In March 2023, Justice Biren Vaishnav set aside the CIC order, holding that the information concerning Modi’s educational degrees was exempt from disclosure under Sections 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act in the absence of a larger public interest warranting disclosure. The court also imposed a ₹25,000 cost on Kejriwal.

Gujarat University Had Sought Costs

During the latest proceedings, Gujarat University argued that costs should be imposed to prevent misuse of the RTI Act and to ensure that public officials do not have to spend working hours dealing with requests that do not serve the purpose of the law.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the university, also referred to a Supreme Court judgment cautioning against indiscriminate and impractical demands for information that could divert public authorities’ resources from productive administrative work.

Appeal Dismissed

Kejriwal challenged the ₹25,000 cost as part of his appeal against the 2023 judgment. After hearing the matter, the division bench found no error warranting interference with the earlier order and dismissed the appeal.

The court also dismissed the connected application seeking a stay.