Delhi University challenges RTI order on disclosure of PM Modi's degree information
Argues Right to Information (RTI) Act not meant to satisfy third party’s curiosity
New Delhi: The University of Delhi (DU) has approached the Delhi High Court, challenging a December 2016 order by the Central Information Commission (CIC) directing the disclosure of information related to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree. The university argued that the Right to Information (RTI) Act was not meant to satisfy a third party’s curiosity.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing DU, told Justice Sachin Datta that the university holds student information in a “fiduciary capacity” and should not be compelled to disclose it to outsiders. He further stated that while Section 6 of the RTI Act mandates the provision of information, the Act was not intended to fulfill personal curiosity.
The CIC had earlier allowed the inspection of 1978 BA exam records, including those of the Prime Minister, following a request by activist Neeraj. The order, which allowed the inspection of records of all students who appeared for the BA exam in 1978, was stayed by the Delhi High Court in January 2017.
Mehta argued that the RTI Act could not be misused to demand indiscriminate disclosure of personal information unrelated to the transparency or accountability of public authorities. He emphasized that such requests could negatively impact the efficiency of administration.
In its petition, DU described the CIC’s order as “arbitrary” and “untenable in law,” stressing that the information sought was “third-party personal information” and that there was no justification for its disclosure in the public interest. The university contended that such demands would undermine the integrity of the RTI Act.
The case will be heard again later in January.
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Over 17,000 people went missing in Delhi in 2024: NCRB
New Delhi (PTI): A total of 23,058 people, comprising 9,482 men and 13,576 women, were reported missing in Delhi in 2024, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
Of the total, 5,491 were children below the age of 18 — 1,571 boys, 3,920 girls.
The city recorded 17,567 fresh adult missing persons cases in 2024, comprising 7,911 men and 9,656 women.
According to the NCRB data, released on Wednesday, 14,637 men, 18,238 women and six transgender persons were still missing from previous years.
At the latest count, in 2024, Delhi had a total of 55,939 missing persons cases — 24,119 men, 31,814 women and six transgender persons.
In 2024, police traced or collected 28,392 missing persons, including 12,182 men, 16,208 women and two transgender persons.
Only half of the men and half of the women who went missing could be traced.
A total of 27,547 missing persons – 11,937 men, 15,606 women, four transgender persons — were yet to be untraced by the end of the year, the data showed.
The data also revealed that 5,352 children from previous years remained untraced at the beginning of 2024.
The number of still missing boys was 1,621, and the number of missing girls was 3,729. Two transgender children were yet to be found.
After adding the pending cases from previous years, the total number of missing children cases handled in 2024 rose to 10,843.
The police traced or recovered 6,762 missing children — 2,030 boys, 4,732 girls.
The recovery rate stood at 63.6 per cent for boys and 61.9 per cent for girls, while no transgender child was traced.
By the end of 2024, a total of 4,081 children remained untraced, 1,162 of them boys, 2,917 girls, and two transgender children.
