The Gujarat High Court on Thursday rejected the petition filed by Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal seeking a review of its March judgment quashing an order of the Central Information Commission that had directed the Gujarat University to provide details of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s academic degree to Mr. Kejriwal.
Justice Biren Vaishnav, who passed the order, held that the court would “tend to agree with the submission” of the Solicitor-General of India Tushar Mehta, representing Gujarat University, that Mr. Kejriwal, having “lost in his legal remedy continues to harp upon his pursuit in following a cause by proceeding in this review application in a manner which does not reflect good taste in public life”.
“The court is conscious that seeking a review is and could be a remedy available in law but looking to the grounds and the arguments raised before this court in the review application, it cannot be said that the applicant has sought to invoke this remedy purely with a view to seeking legal recourse,” the HC order noted.
‘No info on varsity site’
In March, Justice Vaishnav had set aside the CIC’s 2016 directive to Gujarat University to provide information on Mr. Modi’s Master of Arts (MA) degree, allowing the varsity’s appeal against the Commission’s order. The judge had also imposed a cost of ₹25,000 on the Delhi Chief Minister.
One of the key contentions in the review petition was the fact that no information on the PM’s degree was available on the Gujarat university website, contrary to the varsity’s claim.
During the hearing of the review petition, senior lawyer Percy Kavina, appearing for Mr. Kejriwal, had asked Justice Vaishnav to reconsider his judgement, noting that Gujarat University never uploaded Mr. Modi’s degree details on its website as submitted before the court.
