All Higher Education Self-Financed Societies under RTI Act
All Higher Education Self-Financed Societies under RTI Act
The Chief Information Commissioner, State Information Commission, Jaipur, in their judgment dated 16.4.2008 against Appeal No.159/08 of Dr. Mohd. Habib VS Jain Vishva Bharati University (JVBU), Ladnun passed that the Respondent University is not a Public Authority because it is not an authority or body or Institution of Self Government established and constituted (a) by or under the constitution. It is not a body under a Law made by Parliament or State Legislature. It is also not a body established by a notification issued or made by State or Central Government. It is not a body owned, controlled or substantially financed directly or indirectly by the funds provided by the Government. JVBU, on the other hand, is a Society registered under Societies Registration Act and notified as deemed University under section 3 of University Grants Commission Act, 1956.
An institution so notified as deemed University necessarily does not fall under the category of Government constituted, controlled or owned one. As per sub-section (f) of section 2 of UGC Act, the University means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the University concerned, be recognized by the Commission in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act. It is clearly indicated that notification only recognizes the institution as University.
It would depend entirely on the nature of the institute for declaration it a Public Authority.
Here it is important to mention that, in a recently decided case, a Bench comprising Justice M.M. Kumar and Justice T.P.S. Mann of the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that the DAV institutions were covered by the definition of the public authority as defined in the RTI Act. DAV is also a society and not even a Deemed to be University as is JVBU under section 3 of University Grants Commission Act, 1956. The judges cited a judgment by a full bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court given in 1998, in the case of Ravneet Kaur versus Christian Medical College, Ludhiana in which the issue to be decided was whether institutions like CMC were performing private or public functions. In this case, the Bench had also ruled that institutions performing public functions affecting the life of a huge segment of society like education whether aided or not could not be considered as merely private bodies. In the DAV case, the judges had taken the view that since DAV College Trust and Management Society discharge public duties, this could not be regarded as a private entity.
Another point is that in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (i) of Section 12 read with sub sections (f) and (k) of sub section (2) of Section 25 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, the Central Government have made UGC (Returns of Information by Higher Education Institutions) Rules, 2005 with the intent of securing for citizens information under control of public authority with a view to promote transparency and accountability in the working of the higher education institutions. Section 2 of these rules defines “higher education institution” as all the institutions imparting higher education and includes all universities as defined in clause (f) of Section 2 of the UGC Act, 1956, institutions deemed to be a University under Section 3 of the said Act, institutions specially empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer or grant degrees, as also the off campus centres of such universities/ institutions as well as the colleges/ institutes which are affiliated to or recognized by such universities/ institutions.
As per the notification No. F.2-1/2006 U.3 (A) of Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Secondary & Higher Education (U& HE Bureau), Dated April 7, 2006, all institutions even if self financed, which are ‘Deemed to be University’ are required to abide by the instruction/ recommendations of the UGC, failing which the UGC may even consider to recommend to the Central Government for the withdrawal of ‘Deemed to be University’ status.
Under Section 2 (h) of RTI Act “Public Authority" includes any body owned, controlled or substantially -------. Since various educational courses being run by these societies, their syllabi, the teaching or non-teaching posts and selection of teachers to these posts, and many such issues need the prior or subsequent approval or sanction from the appropriate regulatory authority or agencies of the Government like the UGC or the respective Department of Higher Education, this sufficiently proves that such educational societies are a body controlled as mentioned in Section 2 (h) of RTI Act and hence "Public Authority".
Under Section 2 (f) of RTI Act "information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force. This means that even a private institution can not deny information.
The Chief Information Commissioner, State Information Commission, Jaipur, in their judgment dated 16.4.2008 against Appeal No.159/08 of Dr. Mohd. Habib VS Jain Vishva Bharati University (JVBU), Ladnun passed that the Respondent University is not a Public Authority because it is not an authority or body or Institution of Self Government established and constituted (a) by or under the constitution. It is not a body under a Law made by Parliament or State Legislature. It is also not a body established by a notification issued or made by State or Central Government. It is not a body owned, controlled or substantially financed directly or indirectly by the funds provided by the Government. JVBU, on the other hand, is a Society registered under Societies Registration Act and notified as deemed University under section 3 of University Grants Commission Act, 1956.
An institution so notified as deemed University necessarily does not fall under the category of Government constituted, controlled or owned one. As per sub-section (f) of section 2 of UGC Act, the University means a University established or incorporated by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the University concerned, be recognized by the Commission in accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under this Act. It is clearly indicated that notification only recognizes the institution as University.
It would depend entirely on the nature of the institute for declaration it a Public Authority.
Here it is important to mention that, in a recently decided case, a Bench comprising Justice M.M. Kumar and Justice T.P.S. Mann of the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that the DAV institutions were covered by the definition of the public authority as defined in the RTI Act. DAV is also a society and not even a Deemed to be University as is JVBU under section 3 of University Grants Commission Act, 1956. The judges cited a judgment by a full bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court given in 1998, in the case of Ravneet Kaur versus Christian Medical College, Ludhiana in which the issue to be decided was whether institutions like CMC were performing private or public functions. In this case, the Bench had also ruled that institutions performing public functions affecting the life of a huge segment of society like education whether aided or not could not be considered as merely private bodies. In the DAV case, the judges had taken the view that since DAV College Trust and Management Society discharge public duties, this could not be regarded as a private entity.
Another point is that in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (i) of Section 12 read with sub sections (f) and (k) of sub section (2) of Section 25 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, the Central Government have made UGC (Returns of Information by Higher Education Institutions) Rules, 2005 with the intent of securing for citizens information under control of public authority with a view to promote transparency and accountability in the working of the higher education institutions. Section 2 of these rules defines “higher education institution” as all the institutions imparting higher education and includes all universities as defined in clause (f) of Section 2 of the UGC Act, 1956, institutions deemed to be a University under Section 3 of the said Act, institutions specially empowered by an Act of Parliament to confer or grant degrees, as also the off campus centres of such universities/ institutions as well as the colleges/ institutes which are affiliated to or recognized by such universities/ institutions.
As per the notification No. F.2-1/2006 U.3 (A) of Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Secondary & Higher Education (U& HE Bureau), Dated April 7, 2006, all institutions even if self financed, which are ‘Deemed to be University’ are required to abide by the instruction/ recommendations of the UGC, failing which the UGC may even consider to recommend to the Central Government for the withdrawal of ‘Deemed to be University’ status.
Under Section 2 (h) of RTI Act “Public Authority" includes any body owned, controlled or substantially -------. Since various educational courses being run by these societies, their syllabi, the teaching or non-teaching posts and selection of teachers to these posts, and many such issues need the prior or subsequent approval or sanction from the appropriate regulatory authority or agencies of the Government like the UGC or the respective Department of Higher Education, this sufficiently proves that such educational societies are a body controlled as mentioned in Section 2 (h) of RTI Act and hence "Public Authority".
Under Section 2 (f) of RTI Act "information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force. This means that even a private institution can not deny information.
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