The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court ruled that the Right to Information Act (RTI) doesn’t apply to public trusts and educational institutions unless they receive substantial government funding. A three-judge bench, including Justice Avinash Gharote, Justice Anil Kilor, and Justice Urmila Joshi Phalke, was formed following conflicting judgments on the issue by two High Court benches.
While hearing a letters patent appeal by the People’s Welfare Society at Kamptee’s PWS College, the bench considered whether a public trust registered under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950, and receiving government grants must provide information under the RTI Act.
“The High Court stated that if information requested under the RTI Act pertains to the public trust and the trust does not fall within the Act’s sections, there is no obligation to provide details. Additionally, the trust must not have received substantial government largesse or land concessions to fulfill its aims and objectives.”
The judges also asked the State Information Commissioner to decide the parameters of the case. They stated that “In case if RTI information is requested regarding educational or other institutions operated by the public trust, details can be provided based on the extent of government financial support, which will be deicded by the Information Commissioner, details on such educational or other institutions can be supplied,”
The High Court added that the Charity Commissioner wouldn’t be legally bound to provide information collected under the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act if it falls under the exempted category of the RTI Act and lacks statutory backing.
The judges stated that if the requested information is not exempted under the RTI Act, it can be provided by the authority holding custody of the submissions made by the public trust to the authorities under various provisions of the RTI Act.