PM Modi degree row: Gujarat HC to hear Arvind Kejriwal’s plea on July 21

Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), locked in a running battle with the Centre and PM Modi over various issues, have accused the PM of fabricating his education qualifications

The Gujarat high court on Friday scheduled the hearing for July 21 on the review plea filed by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in a matter related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (File Photo)

Justice Biren Vaishnav adjourned the hearing for July 21 after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Gujarat University, sought time to read the rejoinder affidavit filed by Kejriwal.

The case pertains to a directive issued by the Central Information Commission (CIC) instructing Gujarat University to search for information pertaining to PM Modi’s academic qualifications. However, the university contested this directive, leading to the Gujarat high court’s decision to quash the CIC’s order.

The plea comes after the university on May 1 shared Modi’s marksheet, claiming he scored 499 out of 800 marks, or 62.3%, in his post-graduation as an external student in 1983.

The court, which held a brief hearing of the case, has scheduled the hearing for July 21, when arguments and counter-arguments will be presented.

Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), locked in a running battle with the Centre and PM Modi over various issues, have accused the PM of fabricating his education qualifications.

The AAP chief had on Friday filed a rejoinder before the Gujarat high court seeking a review of the court’s earlier ruling.

Justice Biren Vaishnav has admitted the review application and issued notices to all relevant parties involved in the case. These include Gujarat University, the Union of India, the CIC, and Professor M. Sridhar Acharyulu, former commissioner of the CIC, who had issued the original order.

The petition contended that the CIC exceeded its brief by directing the university to disclose the details of Modi’s qualifications to a third person – Kejriwal.

During the proceedings, Gujarat University and Solicitor General Mehta did not object to the filing of an affidavit by Kejriwal. However, Mehta raised concerns that he had received the affidavit at the last moment and had not been able to thoroughly review its contents.

Kejriwal’s review petition challenges the court’s previous decision, which stated that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) was not obligated to provide the requested degree and postgraduate degree certificates.

Kejriwal asserted that the degree is not available on the university’s website or in the public domain, contrary to the claims made by the university and Solicitor General Mehta, who represented the institution during the proceedings.

The rejoinder emphasises that Mehta had orally submitted during the hearing that the degree was available on the website. However, upon scrutiny, it was discovered that only a document referred to as the Office Register (OR) was displayed, which cannot be considered a degree, Kejriwal alleged. He contended that he was not given an opportunity to verify the oral submission made by Mehta on behalf of the university.

Additionally, Kejriwal’s counsel told the court that he had not filed any application for information but had simply written a letter in response to the CIC’s communication in April 2016. He said that he never requested the CIC to treat him as an applicant for the purpose of obtaining the information and that the CIC had initiated the proceedings suo motu.