The Hindu: Kochi: Wednesday, 6Th August 2025.
The Kerala High Court held on Tuesday that Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) would come within the limits of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Replying to a petition
filed by M.R. Ajayan, editor of Green Kerala News, CIAL had contended that it
would not come under the RTI Act since it was not a public property.
Apart from maintaining that the body would come under the RTI Act, a Division Bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. also ordered that a public information officer (PIO) be appointed at the airport. The court fixed a 15-day timeline for CIAL to take steps to become completely RTI compliant and said that no request for extension of the timeline would be entertained.
After perusing a history of cases in this regard, the court said it appeared that the managing director of CIAL had filed writ petitions and appeals without the approval of the agency’s board of directors and the Chief Minister, who chairs the board, for hiding many important actions/decisions from the public and shareholders of CIAL. “We deprecate such practices and direct the Chief Secretary [CS], who too is a board member, to take measures to prevent such instances,” the court said and directed the CS to file an action taken report within 15 days.
Fine imposed:
Maintaining that the writ appeals were filed without proper authority, the court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on CIAL.
The HC order came on appeals filed by CIAL against a single judge order in 2022 wherein the court had held that CIAL was a public authority within the confines of the RTI Act and was, therefore, amenable to obligations of disclosure of information to members of the public.
The State Information Commission had in 2019 held that CIAL was bound to divulge necessary information and meet the statutory obligations under the RTI Act, including the appointment of a PIO.
The Kerala High Court held on Tuesday that Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) would come within the limits of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Apart from maintaining that the body would come under the RTI Act, a Division Bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. also ordered that a public information officer (PIO) be appointed at the airport. The court fixed a 15-day timeline for CIAL to take steps to become completely RTI compliant and said that no request for extension of the timeline would be entertained.
After perusing a history of cases in this regard, the court said it appeared that the managing director of CIAL had filed writ petitions and appeals without the approval of the agency’s board of directors and the Chief Minister, who chairs the board, for hiding many important actions/decisions from the public and shareholders of CIAL. “We deprecate such practices and direct the Chief Secretary [CS], who too is a board member, to take measures to prevent such instances,” the court said and directed the CS to file an action taken report within 15 days.
Fine imposed:
Maintaining that the writ appeals were filed without proper authority, the court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on CIAL.
The HC order came on appeals filed by CIAL against a single judge order in 2022 wherein the court had held that CIAL was a public authority within the confines of the RTI Act and was, therefore, amenable to obligations of disclosure of information to members of the public.
The State Information Commission had in 2019 held that CIAL was bound to divulge necessary information and meet the statutory obligations under the RTI Act, including the appointment of a PIO.
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