DNA:
Mumbai: Thursday, 31 December 2015.
The state
information commission, in a two-bench order, has said the John Wilson
Education Society (JWES), which looks after the Wilson College Campus, Wilson
College Gymkhana, Mackichan Hall and Wilson School, is not a public authority
and, hence, not under the RTI Act.
The order
bears the date November 30 but was signed last week by state information
commissioner (Brihanmumbai bench) Ajit Kumar Jain and state information
commissioner (Konkan bench) Thanksy Thekkekara.
It was given
on an application filed by Naseer Jahagirdar, a resident of Mumbai Central
area. A Wilson College alumnus and microbiology professor there, Jahagirdar had
filed the application to know details of "commercial exploitation" of
the campus, gymkhana, Mackichan Hall and Wilson School from 2005 till date.
For JWES to
be called a public authority, Jahagirdar argued that it had got substantial financing
and land from the government, had to take the collector's permission for
renting out its premises commercially, and has various rules of the Mumbai
university and charity commissioner binding on it, besides citing some court
judgments.
JWES, however,
said government financing went towards the school and college and that the
society did not benefit from it. On land being given to it, JWES said it was
leased for 999 years for conducting business, and with respect to it coming
under the charity commissioner's jurisdiction, its own governing council looked
after its affairs, not the charity commissioner directly, it added.
Of its annual
earning of Rs12.27 crore, Rs7.49 crore was from the government and rest through
JWES's self-finance courses, said the society, adding that if the government
stops funding, its institutions won't stop functioning.
JWES cited
two court orders that the commission took into consideration for its ruling one where it cited the Thalappalam Ser. Co. Op. Bank Ltd, where the court
rejected the Kerala government's order that it is a public authority, and the
other of Shikshan Prasarak Mandali in Pune, which was declared as a public
authority by justice Dharmadhikari, but that decision was stayed by a joint
bench headed by the chief justice in 2013.
The
commission observed that the JWES was not dependent on government funding as it
could raise 34% of its finances.
"All
these premises are located on government land, leased for educational purpose.
There was a time when movie shooting permissions were given so frequently that
it ended up happening even during exams. When I complained, they removed me.
The info panel order is very detrimental to transparency and accountability.
They are taking money and no one knows where is it going or how is it being
used. Henceforth, colleges will say they do not have information, the society
will say that it is not under RTI. The charity commissioner's office will not
have contract details of movie shootings. It will bank on judicial delay
now," said Jahagirdar who will be filing a writ petition to challenge the
order.
Naseer
Jahagirdar has sought copies of the audited statements showing receipt and
utilisation of the funds generated by "commercial exploitation" of
the campus, gymkhana, Mackichan Hall and Wilson School, names of the people
authorised to operate these accounts and details of the accounts. The account
statements pertaining to the commercial exploitation were not found in Wilson
College records, as per another RTI reply from the college.
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