The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a response from Delhi University regarding the delay in filing appeals by several litigants against the court’s August order, which had set aside a 2016 Central Information Commission (CIC) directive requiring the university to disclose details of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bachelor’s degree in response to an RTI application.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the varsity, resisted issuance of notice. He said he is already appearing before the court and has no hesitation in arguing the main appeal, challenging the single judge’s order.
A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela granted three weeks’ time to DU to file their objection to the application seeking condonation of delay in filing appeals.
In a plea moved before the High Court in 2017, DU had challenged the CIC order which had directed inspection of records of students who passed BA Programme from the varsity in 1978 — the year when Modi graduated from the university with a bachelor’s degree.
On August 25, a single judge of the Delhi HC had set aside the CIC order on the ground that there lies a “special relationship of trust and confidence” between a student and a university, which is fiduciary in nature, and held that information pertaining to an individual’s educational qualifications — including degrees and marks — falls within the ambit of “personal information” under provisions of the RTI Act.
The court underlined that “disclosure of academic details sans any overriding public interest, would amount to an intrusion into the personal sphere”, which is otherwise protected under right to privacy.
Four appeals had been filed against the single judge’s order — two by lawyer Mohd Irsad, one by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, and another by RTI applicant Neeraj Kumar — in the Delhi HC.
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The court has now kept the matter for further consideration on January 16, 2026.
In 2023, the Gujarat HC had similarly quashed and set aside an order of the CIC that had directed the varsity to “search for information” regarding PM Modi’s degrees at Gujarat University in 1983.
AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who was the Delhi CM at the time, had sought a review of the Gujarat HC order. Following its dismissal, Kejriwal had then moved an appeal, which continues to be pending till date, scheduled for hearing on January 19, 2026.
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
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