POPULATION SERVICES INTERNATIONAL Vs. RAJESH DHIMAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE respondent Rajesh Dhiman, who was working with the petitioner Population Services International, sought certain information from the petitioner under Right to Information Act. The stand taken by the petitioner was that since it is not a ,,public authority within the meaning of Section 2(h) of the Act, it was not amenable to the provisions of the said Act. Being aggrieved, the respondent approached the Central Information Commission by way of Appeal No.CIS/SG/A/2011/003380. Allowing the appeal vide impugned order dated 23.04.2012, the Commission, inter alia, held as under:-

(2.) SECTION 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, to the extent it is relevant for our purpose, provides that public authority means any non-governmental organization substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by the funds by the appropriate Government. Based upon certain documents produced by the petitioner, the Commission came to the conclusion that the petitioner had received substantial fundings from the State and Central Governments for the year 2009, 2010 and 2011. However, the learned counsel for the petitioner submits that inference drawn by the Commission from the said documents is faulty since the funding was received from certain societies and associations but, not from the appropriate Government, as defined the Act.

(3.) HENCE , the impugned order dated 23.04.2012 is set aside and the matter is remitted back to the Commission to decide in the light of this order as to whether the petitioner is substantially funded either directly or indirectly by the appropriate Government or not. The parties shall appear before the Registrar of the Commission on 27.09.2013. The writ petition stands disposed of accordingly.