The purpose of the Right to Information Act is not to satisfy a third party’s curiosity, the Delhi University told the Delhi High Court on Monday in a case pertaining to the veracity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic qualifications, Live Law reported.

The submission was made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on behalf of the university.

The bench of Justice Sachin Datta was hearing a 2017 plea by the Delhi University challenging an order of the Central Information Commission directing it to allow inspection of records of students who had passed the Bachelor of Arts programme in the academic year ending in 1978.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed that Modi was awarded a BA degree from Delhi University that year and a Master of Arts degree from Gujarat University in 1983.

Critics and the Opposition Aam Aadmi Party have alleged that the degrees are fabricated.

Mehta argued that the commission’s order was contrary to the law. He said that Section 6 of the Right to Information Act mandates that the information has to be provided. However, he said, the Act is “not for satisfying someone’s curiosity”.

The Act cannot be misused by seeking the disclosure of information unrelated to the accountability and transparency of public authorities, the solicitor general contended.

Mehta said that individuals can ask educational institutions to provide them with copies of their own degrees or marksheets if the rules permit, but Section 8(1)(e) of the Act exempts disclosure of such information to a third party, Live Law reported.

The case

Neeraj Kumar, a Right to Information activist, had sought details about students from the Delhi University’s BA programme in 1978, including their roll numbers, marks and if they passed or failed the course.

The university’s central public information officer denied the request on the grounds that it was “third party information”, according to Live Law. The activist then moved the Central Information Commission.

In 2016, the commission ordered the university to release the information. It ruled that the Delhi University was a public body and all information related to its degrees was available in the institution’s register, which is a public document.

The university had previously argued in the High Court that the roll numbers, names and marks of all students were exempted from disclosure.

Also read: Modi’s marksheet: Five reasons why Delhi University must not stonewall RTI inquiries on the subject