HC stays CIC order on Ayodhya trust

The court held that the CIC did not issue notice to the Trust whose information was being sought, hence it has failed to consider the fact that information relating to the income tax records is exempted under Section 138 of I-T Act

New Delhi, Jan 17: There has been a long battle over whether Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust should come under Right to Information (RTI) Act. Several RTI applications have been filed in this regard, some with malicious intent while a few with the simple intention to know the amount of money collected and who are the donors. In one such RTI case, the Chief Information Commission (CIC) ordered the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to furnish the required information.

Aggrieved over the order, CPIO approached the Delhi High Court and appealed for the quashing of the order. Hearing the case, the court has now held that the CIC had failed to consider the fact that information relating to the income tax records is exempted under Section 138 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This, according to the court, is a special law and hence out of the purview of RTI Act.

Earlier, the CIC had on November 30, 2022, ordered the CPIO to entertain the RTI applications filed in front of it for the required information on Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Then it had told the CPIO that the application falls under the Right to Information Act. Therefore, he was bound to furnish the required information within two weeks of time.

Exempted info can't be sought

RTI has long been used as a tool to acquire the information that is not even of great value and goes against the fundamental principle for which the law of RTI was brought. Several of the RTI activities have also been caught blackmailing after acquiring the information. Even in this case, the single-judge Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh stayed the order after the CPIO objected to it.

Nullifying the order from the CIC, the judge said that it did not issue notice to the Trust whose information was being sought. Moreover, since the RTI application is related to a third party and that too with CBDT in fiduciary capacity could not be furnished under the RTI. Needless to say, such information would not be furnished under the RTI Act and the CIC's order is invalid.

At the same time while ordering for the required information under RTI the CIC did not even give any reasoning while reversing the orders of the CPIO. Keeping all these factors in mind, the court accepted the plea from CPIO and rejected the CIC's order.