Congress Calls Delhi HC Order on PM’s Degree Disclosure ‘Incomprehensible

Swift Summary

• The Congress party criticized the secrecy surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational degree details, calling it “incomprehensible.”
• The Delhi High court quashed a 2016 order from the Central Information Commission (CIC) that had directed disclosure of PM Modi’s Bachelor of Arts degree details.
• The court ruled that such information constitutes “personal information” and found no “implicit public interest” justifying its disclosure.
• Congress leader Jairam Ramesh highlighted this issue on social media platform X, questioning why the Prime Minister’s degree details are not public when others’ are available.
• he linked this development to amendments made to the RTI Act in 2019, which he described as weakening transparency laws.
• Legal proceedings date back to an RTI request filed in 2016, with an earlier CIC decision permitting inspection of academic records overturned by subsequent court orders.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The court’s classification of PM Modi’s educational qualifications as personal information has reignited debates over transparency versus privacy for public officials.On one hand, legal precedents frequently enough protect personal data unless compelling public interest is demonstrated. Conversely, critics argue that leaders holding high office should set higher benchmarks for openness to promote accountability and trust.

The reference by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh to amendments in the RTI Act reflects long-standing concerns about reducing access to critical governmental information under its framework-an issue that may have wider implications for governance accountability and institutional trust across India.

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