DNA:
Mumbai: Friday, 01 January 2016.
After ruling
that the John Wilson Education Society is not a public authority, the state
information commission (SIC), in yet another such order, has stated that the
Indian Education Society, which runs several educational institutes, is not
under RTI Act.
The order
dated November 30 was passed by state information commissioner (Brihanmumbai
bench) Ajit Kumar Jain and state information commissioner (Konkan bench)
Thanksy Thekkekara.
The
applicant, Vikram Karandikar, had sought information about pay scale of
professors at IES Junior College, Bandra, from the IES. Via another application
made separately to the college, he had sought the same details. Both said they
are not public authorities.
Arguing for
the IES to be declared a public authority, Karandikar said the funds the IES
receives from the government account for over 33% of its total income and 42%
of its total expenditure. It received I-T exemption, he added and also said
that the IES had given information about an aided school on the same premises
but declined to give information about the college, which is not aided. The
society was having a dual policy of coming under RTI, Karandikar claimed.
Because the
society was bound and regulated by rules of the education department and has to
follow rules of the government to provide admission to students, including
those from the backward classes, there were more reasons for it coming under
the RTI, he said. Karandikar cited an order of the Punjab and Haryana High
Court on DAV College, wherein information pertaining to non-aided school on the
same premises was directed to be given.
He argued
that the Thalapallam verdict was not applicable as it was not financed by the
government. IES, however, put forth two court orders that were stayed and are
at the same stage. It also said that the I-T exemption granted to it is because
it's an educational institute and that it has nothing to do with the finances
given by the government.
It cited the
order of Vishya Degree College, wherein the Supreme Court stated that "if
an institution has a separate existence of its own without any reference to the
statute concerned but is merely government by the statutory provisions, it
cannot be said to be a statutory body."
The
commission, while taking into consideration various orders, observed that the
society, besides having government land, also had its own, from where it runs
both aided and unaided institutions. It then ruled that the IES cannot come
under the RTI. When called, Karandikar said, "I have just done a plain
reading of the order and will look at in detail after sometime."
.JPG)
.JPG)
