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Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Bengaluru's Century Club is ‘public authority', will have to provide information under RTI Act: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has held that Century Club, located on 7.5 acres of land provided by the then Maharaja of Mysore near Cubbon Park in Bengaluru, is a public authority and hence comes under the purview of the Right To Information (RTI) Act. The order was passed on July 8 by a Bench consisting of Justice Suraj Govindaraj, dismissing a petition by the Club. 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.'
New Indian Express
7 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Century Club is public authority under RTI Act, upholds Karnataka HC
BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday declared that the Century Club is a public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order dismissing a petition filed by Century Club, questioning the order passed by the Karnataka Information Commission (KIC) declaring the club as a public authority. Advocate S Umapathy had filed the application to the club, seeking certain documents under the RTI Act in 2012, and the club in November of the same year informed him that it is not a public authority as defined under Section 2(4) of the Act, and therefore, there is no necessity to furnish the said information to him. Against this, Umapathy moved the KIC in 2013 on the ground that the Maharaja of Mysore, having provided a free grant of 7.5 acres of land abutting Cubbon Park to Century Club, amounts to substantial indirect finance by the state and therefore, the club would be covered under the RTI Act. However, the Century Club contended before the KIC that though the land had been granted by the then Maharaja of Mysore, the same cannot be construed as substantially financing the club, which is an independent society, and it cannot come within the purview of the RTI Act. Rejecting it, the KIC on March 14, 2018, passed the order impugned, directing the club to furnish the information. Therefore, the club moved the HC in 2018.
Deccan Herald
22-07-2025
- Deccan Herald
RTI Act applicable to Bengaluru Century Club, rules Karnataka HC
In 2012, S Umapathy, a Bengaluru-based advocate, had filed an application to the club under the RTI seeking a certified copy of the list of records duly catalogued and indexed as required to be maintained under the RTI Act.
