Bengaluru's Century Club is ‘public authority', will have to provide information under RTI Act: Karnataka High Court
The Century Club moved the High Court challenging a Karnataka Information Commission ruling in 2018 that ordered the club to provide a lawyer a certified copy of certain records in 2012 under the RTI Act. The club had earlier denied the lawyer, S Umapathy, the records, stating that it was not a 'public authority' as defined under the RTI Act.
The club's counsel argued before the High Court that merely because the initial 7.5 acres of land for the club was provided by the Maharaja in 1913, it would not amount to 'substantial financing' by the state government. He argued that, as per Supreme Court precedent, for it to be a case of substantial funding, the body ought to be primarily run by it. On the other hand, the land was granted by the Maharaja as the club's patron, while the club was run by member dues, the counsel said.
The Bench observed that it was the state's land and not personal property that was granted. 'There is no payment which has been made by the petitioner-club to the Maharaja of Mysore or the Kingdom of Mysore. The grant made in the name of the Maharaja of Mysore would also indicate that it is not the personal property of the Maharaja of Mysore,' the Bench stated.
Umapathy argued that 'substantial funding' existed as the club could not exist without the land. He added that as the Maharaja was the head of a princely state, the same would count as a grant made by the government. He also raised the fact that the land in the centre of the city was of considerable value.
Upholding the Karnataka Information Commission's initial finding, the Bench stated, 'if the valuation of the land of 7.5 acres as on today is taken into consideration, the same would run into hundreds of crores if not thousands, the contribution made by the members of the petitioners-club, as membership fees or any other head of account pales into insignificance. In that view of the matter, it is clearly and categorically established that there is a substantial contribution made by the State through the Maharaja of Mysore, who granted 7.5 acres of land to the petitioner-club in 1913, thereby making the provisions of the RTI Act applicable.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
44 minutes ago
- Time of India
SP MP demands rollback of school merger
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party MP from Machhlishahr Priya Saroj has written to the Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan demanding review of the policy of 'integration of schools' in Uttar Pradesh and cancellation of the merger process. In her letter, Saroj said that the policy of integration of schools was being followed in Uttar Pradesh, which seems to be against the basic spirit of the Right to Education Act (RTE Act). "Under RTE Act, there is a provision that every child between the age of 6 to 14 years should be provided free and compulsory education within one kilometre of the nearest primary school from residence. If no school is available within a radius of one kilometre, then it is the responsibility of the govt to ensure admission of the child in the nearest school," she said. She said the current policy of the UP govt was violating the spirit of the Act. "This is hindering access to school for many children, leading more dropouts. Jobs of 2.5 lakh teachers and school staff of UP are also at risk," she said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Gyanendra Sharma award to Joshi
Lucknow: Veteran journalist Naveen Joshi was honoured with the 'Gyanendra Sharma Memorial Excellence in Journalism Award' at a seminar organised by the UP Journalists' Guild at the UP Press Club. The event was held in memory of senior journalist Gyanendra Sharma, a towering figure in Uttar Pradesh journalism. Prominent journalists of the city paid rich tributes to Sharma's illustrious career spanning five decades. Speakers, including Prof Ramesh Dixit, Sharad Pradhan, Ram Dutt Tripathi, Hemant Tiwari, and Suresh Bahadur Singh, praised Sharma's ability to evolve with changing times—from the era of RTI to the rise of electronic media—while remaining deeply committed to factual reporting. Joshi urged the Guild to consider recognising rural journalists in the future, who continue to uphold truthful journalism despite limited resources and challenges. Sharma's son Anupam Sharma and other family members were present.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Delhi govt.'s move to amend labour laws will strip lakhs of workers of their rights, say experts
Trade union leaders and experts have criticised the Delhi government's move to amend at least two labour laws as part of its 'Ease of Doing Business' policy, saying the amendments will strip lakhs of workers in the city of several rights. The first pertains to changing the applicability of the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954, to establishments with 10 or more employees. Currently, the Act, which includes several safeguards for employees, such as leaves, weekly holidays, and a month's notice for dismissal, is applicable even to establishments with one employee. The government is also planning to amend the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which protects workers in cases of lay-offs and closure of units employing 100 or more workers, by raising the minimum threshold of employees to 300. Directions were issued to senior officials at a review meeting on June 30, chaired by Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena and attended by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, to make these changes, said a source. However, the government is yet to release any official statement on the matter. 'No protection' Anurag Saxena, CITU general secretary (Delhi), said introducing a threshold in the law will leave employees working in smaller establishments without any protection. 'Right now, if a person working at a small bakery or garment shop is fired illegally, he or she can file a complaint under the Act. Once the minimum threshold is increased to 10, workers at thousands of establishments with fewer than 10 employees will be placed outside the ambit of the law and left without any protection,' he said. A senior Delhi government official said once the four Labour Codes, which were passed in Parliament in 2019 and 2020, are implemented, workers in smaller establishments will be provided with 'some level of protection'. However, Mr. Saxena said, 'The labour codes could provide protection to employees in case of wages, but there is no safeguard for workers at a small establishment who are fired illegally.' Concurrent List The government is also looking to make changes to the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, which applies to commercial units across the country, as labour is part of the Concurrent List, which includes subjects over which the Union and State governments share legislative responsibilities. Currently, the Act provides protection to workers in the event of retrenchment and closure of firms employing 100 workers or more, as prior permission is required from the government or notice is to be given for such actions. The Delhi government plans to amend the Act to cover only establishments employing 300 or more workers. Professor Surajit Mazumdar at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said an employee's rights do not depend on the size of the establishment. 'As things stand, many labour laws meant to protect employees are not enforced properly. And now if you remove the workers from the ambit of the law itself, the workers won't be able to even fight for their rights,' he said. The threshold in the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 has already been raised to 300 by the Bharatiya Janata Party governments in Gujarat (2021) and Assam (2018). The same change has also been proposed in the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, which is part of the four labour Codes, which have not been implemented amid resistance from labour unions across the country. Mr. Mazumdar said raising the threshold to 300 would be a way of introducing the labour Codes 'through the back door'. Gujarat had also amended the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2019 (the equivalent of the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954) six years ago to cover units employing only 10 or more workers. 'The total number of employees in establishments with less than 10 workers in Delhi, who will be affected by the change in law, will be in the range of 7 to 20 lakh and the actual figure will be closer to 15 lakh,' said Mr. Mazumdar. He used the data from the Economic Census, 2013-14 and Delhi Economic Survey 2023-24 to arrive at the conclusion. Brijesh Goyal, chairman of Chamber of Trade & Industry, said the figure will be around 18-20 lakh workers, and Sucheta De, AICCTU national vice president, said the figure will be around 15-17 lakh workers. 'The entire practice is to keep most workers outside the scope of any legal protections,' Ms. De said. When reached out, the CM's office did not offer any comment.
