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The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday (September 29, 2026) rejected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal's appeal against an order that set aside a directive asking 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’s order, finding no grounds to interfere with the decision quashing the Central Information Commission's (CIC) 2016 directive and imposing a cost of ₹25,000 on Kejriwal.
"In the totality of facts and circumstances of the present case, no error on any of the submissions of the appellant hearing can be found in the judgment impugned. The appeal stands dismissed accordingly with no further order as to cost," the High Court said in its order.
While quashing the CIC order, the single-judge Bench of the High Court had on March 31, 2023, also imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on Mr. Kejriwal and reprimanded him for misusing the RTI provisions, saying his approach was casual.
During the hearings of his appeal, Mr. Kejriwal's counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi had challenged the basis for imposing costs, arguing that his client had not "persisted" seeking Mr. Modi's degree, as against the Single Bench observation to this effect.
He had contended that the CIC had initiated proceedings suo motu and named him as a respondent based on a letter and not a formal application.
Furthermore, Gujarat University had submitted before the Single Bench that the degree was already available online; however, in his review petition before the Single Bench, Mr. Kejriwal's lawyers had pointed out that it was never made online — a plea that was rejected.
If the degree is indeed available online — presumably made so by Gujarat University in view of its public importance — then it should fall within the ambit of the RTI Act, and the cause of action would cease to exist, Kejriwal's lawyer argued.
Representing the University, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had argued that Mr. Kejriwal fought the case relentlessly and even held press conferences to defame the institution.
He had submitted that the high court should impose costs on Mr. Kejriwal for filing his appeal to ensure that the RTI Act is not misused and government officials are not made to spend productive working hours dealing with requests that do not serve the Act's purpose.
The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday (September 29, 2026) rejected Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal's appeal against an order that set aside a directive asking Gujarat University to disclose Prime Minister Narendra Modi's academic degree.