Private aided educational institutions would come under the ambit of the Right to Information Act 2005, if they are substantially financed by the State government, the Kerala High Court has held.
In its order, the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice S. Manikumar and Justice Shaji P. Chaly noted that the Act was brought into force in 2005 to secure information for citizens and to access to the information under the control of public authorities to make the administration and governance transparent and accountable.
It was on the appeals filed by SN Colleges of Kollam, Varkala, Chengannur, Nattika, Cherthala, Chempazhanthy, and Shoranur; SN College for Women, Kollam; T.K.M.M. College, Nangiarkulangara; M.D. College, Pazhanji; and S.N. Training College, Nedungandam, that the order was issued.
Article 12
The colleges contended that private aided colleges cannot be considered as State as defined in the Article 12 of the Constitution of India. They also argued that a private college was not an authority or body constituted by a notification issued or an order made by the appropriate government.
They also submitted that a private college was not a body owned, controlled or substantially financed by the government or constituted by notification or order of the government and hence didn’t come under the definition of public authority.
However, it was found that the State was meeting the salary and the pension benefits of these aided college staff, which was distributed through the treasuries.
The State government was releasing financial assistance to students of aided colleges for better educational facilities.
UGC funds
It was also submitted that the UGC was releasing huge funds for individual colleges, for developmental activities, infrastructure development of colleges, and for major or minor research projects. The fund was released directly to college Principals, after verifying the proposals.
The order was passed by the court after considering the legal and factual aspects of the case and the information furnished by the State government in respect of the aid provided to the appellant colleges.
