SARASWATI SHIKSHA SAMITI Vs. STATE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the parties.

(2.) Present petition has been filed by the petitioners for quashing the impugned letter dated 03.05.2010 (Annexure-14) and for issuing a writ of prohibition against the respondents, prohibiting them from applying the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (for short the Act) to the institution of the petitioners. Further prayer has been made for a direction to the respondents that they may not compel the petitioners to provide information to the respondent no.4 in pursuance to the letter dated 19.04.2010 (Annexure-13).

(3.) Brief facts of the case, as narrated in the writ petition, are that petitioners are societies registered under the provisions of the Societies Registration Act, 1860 who are running schools for providing education upto junior High school level in District Udham Singh Nagar. The Schools/institutions run by the petitioners are unaided, self financed, privately managed institutions and the respondent Basic Education Department has granted recognition to all the schools as unaided institutions and role of education department is only to maintain education standards as per the provisions of Basic Education Act. The Right to Information Act, 2005 was enacted with the aim and objective for setting up a practical regime of right to information for the citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authority, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority. The contention of the petitioners is that they are neither a body constituted under the Constitution or Parliament or State Legislature, nor a body which has been constituted vide any notification issued or order made by the appropriate government and not owned, controlled or even substantially financed directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate government hence they are not "Public Authority". On 19.04.2010, the respondent no.4 send a letter to the respondent nos.1 & 2 through S.D.M. Kashipur, seeking certain informations from the respondent nos.1 & 2 under the Right to Information Act, 2005 in relation to the institutions run by the petitioners. Thereafter, the respondent no.2 forwarded that letter to respondent no.2 for necessary action. Then, the respondent no.3 vide letter dated 03.05.2010 directed to all Sankul Prabhary, Vikash Khand Jaspur, Udham Singh Nagar to collect the required informations from all the petitioners.