AI OCR 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (4) TMI 159
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....s well as Central Information Commission/R1 being, Poorna Prajna Public School v. Central Information Commission and Others [2009 SCC OnLine Del 3077], Mehjabin Kousar v. Public Information Officer/Assistant Director of Education - (East), Directorate of Education (Govt. of NCT of Delhi), RTI Section Public Information Officer/Deputy Director of Education - (Zone-1), Directorate of Education (Govt. of NCT of Delhi) Zone I Through: Ms.Neha Shankar, Mr.Rajesh Joshi and Mr.M.K.Sharma [2018 SCC OnLine CIC 1148] 4. Thus, invoking the provisions of the Act, third respondent sought the following information from the college: '1. Certified copy of the Application filed by the PGP College of Engineering and Technology for the first time to seek approval from the AICTE, New Delhi, along with all enclosures appended therein with respect to the Handbook on approval Process of AICTE to conduct the Engineering Courses, as per section 2(j)(ii) of the RTI Act. 2. Certified copy of all the applications submitted year wise along with enclosures, for seeking Extension of approval from AICTE, New Delhi, w.e.f. second year onwards to till date. 3. Permission to inspect all the features certifi....
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....uality in such colleges. 10. Being of that view, he directed the Central Public Information Officer to facilitate inspection of the colleges on a suitable date and without any disturbance caused to the academic schedule and upon costs in that regard being paid by the appellant. 11. The petitioner is aggrieved with this order and raises three grounds challenging the same. The first two grounds are general in nature and touch upon the scope and ambit of the RTI Act to solicit information from private unaided institutions. The third is specific to the facts of this case, and the petitioner would object specifically to the tone and tenor of the query from R3 as well as the lack of bonafides in the query itself. 12. The RTI Act sets out a practical regime of right to citizens to secure access to information which is under the control of public authorities. The object is to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority. Thus, one needs to examine whether a private unaided educational institution would constitute a 'public authority' that would be subject to the dictates of the Act. 13. 'Public authority' has been defined under Section 2(h) as follow....
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.... as State of West Bengal vs. Nripendra Nath Bagchi (AIR 1966 SC 447); Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh v. L.V.A.Dixitulu [(1979) 2 SCC 34]; Corporation of the City of Nagpur vs. Ramachandra [(1981) 2 SCC 714]; Shamrao Vithal Coop. Bank Ltd. vs. Kasargod Pandhuranga Mallya [(1972) 4 SCC 600]; State of Mysore vs. Allum Karibasappa [(1974) 2 SCC 498] and Madan Mohan Choudhary vs. State of Bihar [(1999) 3 SCC 396]. 18. After considering the aforesaid judgments, the Court concluded that the control exercised by the appropriate Government must be of a very substantial nature and a mere supervision or regulation as provided for under a Statute would not render that body a 'public authority'. 19. At paragraphs 44 and 45, they state as follows: '44. We are of the opinion that when we test the meaning of expression "controlled" which figures in between the words "body owned" and "substantially financed", the control by the appropriate Government must be a control of a substantial nature. The mere "supervision" or "regulation" as such by a statute or otherwise of a body would not make that body a "public authority" within the meaning of Section 2(h)(d)(i) of the RTI Act. In other words jus....
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....substantially financed by the State and hence amenable to the provisions of the RTI Act. 22. In Tyndale Biscoe School and Others vs. Union Territory of J&K and Others (AIR 2022 J&K 112) the entire gamut of the case-law on the subject has been reproduced and analysed and the Court has arrived at the following conclusions: 17. In view of the foregoing analysis, this Court has arrived at following conclusions:- i) That a private unaided educational institution established and run by an independent society, trust or managing committee, which is not substantially financed directly or indirectly by the appropriate Government does not fall within the definition of 'public authority' contained in Section 2(h) of the Act of 2005. ii) That a private educational Institution which may require recognition or is recognized by the appropriate Government under any law for the time being in force does not ipso facto become a public authority within the meaning of term given in Section 2(h) of the Act of 2005 unless it is either owned, controlled or substantially financed by the appropriate Government. iii) Private unaided institution is not an authority or body or institution of self go....
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....2(f) "information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force;' 2(j) "right to information" means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to- (i) inspection of work, documents, records; (ii) taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records; (iii) taking certified samples of material; (iv) obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device; 26. Section 8 exempts from disclosure, various genres of information, as follows: '8. Exemption from disclosure of information.- (1)Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen,- (a) informat....
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....nied to any person. (2)Notwithstanding anything in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (19 of 1923) nor any of the exemptions permissible in accordance with sub-section (1), a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests. (3)Subject to the provisions of clauses (a), (c) and (i) of sub-section (1), any information relating to any occurrence, event or matter which has taken place, occurred or happened twenty years before the date on which any request is made under section 6 shall be provided to any person making a request under that section: Provided that where any question arises as to the date from which the said period of twenty years has to be computed, the decision of the Central Government shall be final, subject to the usual appeals provided for in this Act.' 27. Sections 2(f) defines 'information' and is wide in scope and import. There is no doubt that the information sought for by R3 would, generally, be covered under its ambit. Incidentally, and at this juncture the petitioner also clarifies that all its statutory approvals are currant and upto date. Section 2(I) defines 'right to info....
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....Section 8 of the Act. 32. Upon a combined understanding of the above provisions, the petitioner institution, though a private unaided school, would still be subject to disclosure of information, in line with the procedure set out under Section 11 and other applicable provisions. 33.The procedure envisaged under Section 11 is that when an information officer receives a request for information, he has to first apply his mind as to whether he intends to disclose that information, if the information is part of public record that he is in possession of, qua the third party (in this case, the petitioner institution). If it is not part of the information available with him, he is to solicit such information from the third party. 34. In both cases, either whether if he is in the possession of the same or whether he solicits the same from the third party, he shall give notice to the third party of the request his intention to disclose the information on record or part thereof and thereafter invite the third party to make its submission regarding whether the information may be disclosed. 35. Upon receipt of the response from the third party, the officer shall within an overall period of ....
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....s obliged to get information. Entitlement of the public authority to ask for information from a private body is required to be satisfied. 14. Section 22 of the RTI Act, reads:- 22. Act to provisions of notwithstanding have overriding effect.--The this Act shall have effect anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act. 15. Section 22 of the RTI Act is an overriding clause but it does not modify any other statute or enactment, on the question of right and power of a public authority to call for information relating to a private body. A bar, prohibition or restriction in a statutory enactment, before information can be accessed by a public authority, continues to apply and is not obliterated by section 22 of the RTI Act. Section 2(f) of the RTI Act does not bring about any modification or amendment in any other enactment, which bars or prohibits or imposes pre-condition for accessing information from private bodies. Rather, it upholds and accepts the said position when it uses the expression -which can be accessed i.e. the p....
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....on including information furnished and relating to private bodies available with public authority is covered by Section 2(f) of the RTI Act. Further, information which a public authority can access under any other law from a private body is also -information under section 2(f). The public authority should be entitled to ask for the said information under law from the private body. Details available with a public authority about a private body are -information and details which can be accessed by the public authority from a private body are also -information but the law should permit and entitle the public authority to ask for the said details from a private body. Restrictions, conditions and prerequisites imposed and prescribed by law should be satisfied. The question whether information should be denied requires reference to Section 8 of the RTI Act. 17. Learned counsel for the petitioner School submitted that the Directorate of Education does not have an access to the minutes of the managing committee. Under Rule 180 (i) of the DSE Rules, the private unaided schools are required to submit return and documents in accordance with Appendix 2 thereto and minutes of the managing co....