Times of India; Monday , June 27 , 2011,
Time line:
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has set aside an order passed by state information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari (now under suspension), which denied information to an RTI applicant who sought details of assets and members of a charitable trust.
Sayed Arshad Ali had sought information on certified copies of schedule-1 of Station Road Masjid and Haji Abdul Rahim Sadariyawala trusts from the charity commissioner's office. Schedule-1 of the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950, which is a public document under the RTI Act, provides names and addresses of trustees as well as the movable and immovable properties of trusts. The information categorised under schedule -1 is a public document under the RTI act.
When Ali sought this information under the RTI Act, officials at the charity commissioner's office refused to divulge the information.
"They provided information only on station road the Masjid trust," denied information of the second trust , that is the Haji Abdul Rahim Sadariyawala trust,'' Ali said.
Ali filed an appeal with the first appellate authority with the charity commissioner's office but the information was not providedby the appellate authority. Ali filed a second another appeal with the SIC. Tiwari, in 2008, passed an order to provide the information to the applicant. The charity commissioner's office refused to give the information turned him down. "But inspite of the SIC order the charity commissioner's office denied the information .
"I then filed a fresh complaint with SIC. During the hearing, the appellate authority told SIC that the proceedings of the trust had been transferred to Wakf Board, Aurangabad."
"Tiwari then reversed his own order and disposed of my complaint," said Ali. , instead of asking the charity commissioner's office to provide the information from the Wakf Board, he reversed his own earlier order and disposed of my complaint,'' Ali who is a trustee of both the trusts said.
He challenged the order in the HC claiming that there is no such provision under the RTI Act, 2005. "While the case came up for hearing
"The counsel for the state argued that the first SIC order was not reviewed and fresh order was made under Section 18 of the RTI Act. There is no such provision under the said section," he said.
The HC has directed the state information SIC to take steps to provide the relevant papers that have been transferred to Wakf board.
Sayed Arshad Ali had sought information on certified copies of schedule-1 of Station Road Masjid and Haji Abdul Rahim Sadariyawala trusts from the charity commissioner's office. Schedule-1 of the Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950, which is a public document under the RTI Act, provides names and addresses of trustees as well as the movable and immovable properties of trusts. The information categorised under schedule -1 is a public document under the RTI act.
When Ali sought this information under the RTI Act, officials at the charity commissioner's office refused to divulge the information.
"They provided information only on station road the Masjid trust," denied information of the second trust , that is the Haji Abdul Rahim Sadariyawala trust,'' Ali said.
Ali filed an appeal with the first appellate authority with the charity commissioner's office but the information was not providedby the appellate authority. Ali filed a second another appeal with the SIC. Tiwari, in 2008, passed an order to provide the information to the applicant. The charity commissioner's office refused to give the information turned him down. "But inspite of the SIC order the charity commissioner's office denied the information .
"I then filed a fresh complaint with SIC. During the hearing, the appellate authority told SIC that the proceedings of the trust had been transferred to Wakf Board, Aurangabad."
"Tiwari then reversed his own order and disposed of my complaint," said Ali. , instead of asking the charity commissioner's office to provide the information from the Wakf Board, he reversed his own earlier order and disposed of my complaint,'' Ali who is a trustee of both the trusts said.
He challenged the order in the HC claiming that there is no such provision under the RTI Act, 2005. "While the case came up for hearing
"The counsel for the state argued that the first SIC order was not reviewed and fresh order was made under Section 18 of the RTI Act. There is no such provision under the said section," he said.
The HC has directed the state information SIC to take steps to provide the relevant papers that have been transferred to Wakf board.
Time line:
- 2007--Syed Ali filed an RTI query asking for information regarding two trusts.
- 2008--An appeal was filed after the information was denied.
- 2009--Second appeal with SIC was filed.
- 2010--Writ petition filed against SIC.
- 2011--High court directs SIC to take steps to provide information.
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