Gujarat HC rejects Kejriwal appeal in PM Modi degree case

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, dismissed AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s appeal against a March 2023 order that quashed a 2016 CIC directive for Gujarat University to disclose Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic degree. A division bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D.N. Ray upheld the single-judge order and the Rs 25,000 cost imposed on Kejriwal, finding ‘no error’ in the impugned judgment. The court observed that the CIC’s suo-motu action was ‘completely outside the scope of the RTI Act’ and that a PM’s educational qualification is ‘personal information’ exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j), with no larger public interest established.

Kejriwal’s counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi had argued his client did not ‘persist’ in seeking the degree and that the CIC acted on a letter, not a formal application. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the university, said Kejriwal held press conferences to defame the institution and urged costs to prevent RTI misuse. The case originated in 2016 when Kejriwal wrote to the CIC demanding the degree be made public. The order ends the decade-long legal battle in this forum.

Update, 30 September 2026: LiveLaw reports the court held that a PM’s educational degree is ‘personal information’ exempt from RTI disclosure under Section 8(1)(j), with no larger public interest, and that the CIC’s suo-motu order was ‘completely outside the scope of the RTI Act’. Hindustan Times also reports the dismissal but adds no new legal findings.