LI Network
Published on: November 10, 2023 at 11:35 IST
The Gujarat High Court has dismissed Arvind Kejriwal’s review petition challenging the Court’s March 31 decision, which ruled that the Gujarat University was not obliged to provide information about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic degree [Arvind Kejriwal vs Gujarat University].
Justice Biren Vaishnav delivered the verdict on the review plea by Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi and leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). A detailed copy of the judgment is yet to be released.
Kejriwal submitted the review plea after the High Court previously annulled an order by the Chief Information Commission (CIC), which had directed the disclosure of Prime Minister Modi’s degree.
The CIC’s order was issued in response to an application by Kejriwal under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act). Subsequently, the Gujarat University appealed to the Gujarat High Court to challenge the CIC’s decision.
The High Court upheld the appeal and imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on Kejriwal for purportedly undermining the RTI Act.
Kejriwal later filed an application seeking a review of this decision.
Senior Advocate Percy Kavina, representing Kejriwal, argued that the Court had made certain observations that were erroneous, particularly those characterizing his client’s conduct as reprehensible. Kavina asserted that Kejriwal had not invited the Court’s displeasure and had actually sought the expeditious resolution of the proceedings.
Kavina also contested the Court’s conclusion that the disclosure of the PM’s degree was unrelated to the ‘larger public interest,’ asserting that this finding lacked factual basis.
In response, Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, representing Gujarat University, argued that the review petition was an attempt to prolong the controversy needlessly. Mehta contended that the review was a “childish prayer” by Kejriwal, and that the degree had no relevance to the public office held by the Prime Minister.
Mehta defended the Court’s previous findings, stating that Kejriwal had abused the provisions of the RTI Act and that the CIC’s order to disclose the degree had created a political storm without justification, bringing the public discourse to a low level.