Air Force School, Sarsawa is not a public authority under RTI

The applicant sought copies of marks awarded in different levels of examination to the appellant and other candidates, by each Member of the Recruitment Board constituted for recruitment to the post of Primary Teacher at Air Force School, Sarsawa. The applicant submitted that all the schools of Air Force are built on the land allotted to the Air Force Complex which is government land and in addition, the building for these schools is also being constructed by the Air Force with the government funds received from the Defence budget allocated to the Indian Air Force. The PIO submitted that the information sought by the appellant pertains to Air Force School, Sarsawa. Air Force Schools are run under the aegis of “The Indian Air Force Educational and Cultural Society” and do not fall under the term “Public Authority”. It is a non-public fund venture and does not fall under the definition of public authority as per Sec 2(h) of the RTI Act. The CIC held that the AFS Sarsawa is not a public authority u/s 2(h) of the RTI Act. The PIO was asked whether they can obtain any information from the custodian to which he submitted that they work in ex-officio capacity and will not be able to access information. In view of the same the Commission is not able to provide any relief.

Comments

In the case of Union of India and another v. Chotelal and Others on 8.12.1998, the Supreme Court observed that in view of the characters of the Regimental Fund, we have no hesitation to come to the conclusion that the said fund cannot be held to be public fund by any stretch of imagination.

Citation: Priyanka Taneja v. Indian Air Force in File no.: CIC/IAIRF/A/2020/108465, Date of Decision: 01/11/2021

Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com