The Gujarat University on Monday filed a petition in the high court challenging the central information commissioner’s (CICI) order directing the University to provide details of PM Narendra Modi’s post-graduate degree to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The petition seeks to quash the CIC order.
The Court issued a notice to the CIC and the Chief Minister of Delhi on the matter.
In the petition, the University has contended that the CIC had no authority to direct the varsity to provide details of Prime Minister's post-graduate degree to Mr. Kejriwal because the university was not even a party in the matter.
On 29th April, the CIC had directed Gujarat and Delhi university to disclose details of Mr. Modi's post graduate and graduate details respectively to Mr. Kejriwal, who had written to the CIC.
The petition submits that the CIC exceeded its brief by directing the university to disclose the details of degree of Mr. Modi to a third person, Chief Minister of Delhi.
On May 1st, Gujarat University's Vice Chancellor M.N. Patel had shared a mark sheet of Mr. Modi claiming that he had scored 499 out of 800 marks, which comes to 62.3 %, in MA as an external candidate from the university in 1983.
However, the university had not shared records of Mr. Modi's graduation degree BA and V-C MN Patel contended that, “Mr. Modi was enrolled in the Gujarat University for post graduation only so we don't have details of his BA."
Mr. Patel had evaded queries on why the varsity had rejected dozens of RTI applications seeking details of Mr. Modi's degrees and qualifications. "The details of marks and degree can only be shared with the candidate himself and the varsity does not maintain records beyond 20 years," Mr Patel had said.
