The Delhi High Court said on Thursday that if the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) examination marks are available online now, past students can not claim of right to privacy.
The court's observation came during the hearing of the CBSE plea challenging a Central Information Commission (CIC) direction allowing inspection of Union minister Smriti Irani's class 10 and 12 records to an applicant under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
"Are all the CBSE marks of students available in the public domain today? If it is possible today, then you cannot say there is a right of privacy qua results of earlier students," Justice Vibhu Bakhru observed.
The court asked CBSE lawyer Anil Soni to take instructions on the factual situation presently and listed the matter for further hearing on March 8.
The court had in November last year told the board that it cannot continue to enjoy the stay on the CIC order if it does not inform the RTI applicant, Mohd Naushaduddin, about it. CBSE told the court on Thursday that it has informed the RTI applicant about its appeal and the stay order.
The CBSE had challenged the CIC's January 17, 2017 order on the ground that the school records of Irani cannot be disclosed under the RTI Act, as it was third party information that was held in fiduciary capacity.
The CIC had allowed the applicant to inspect the school records of Irani and rejected the CBSE's contention that the information sought by Naushaduddin was "personal".
The commission had said that when a public representative declares his educational qualifications, the voter has a right to check the declaration.
