Delhi High Court: PM CARES Fund is not deprived of right to information, right to privacy remains intact
The Delhi High Court has said that the PM CARES Fund, even if it is a legal or government entity, cannot be deprived of the right to privacy under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Division Bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia made it clear that the fund, despite being involved in public functions, does not lose its right to privacy. The Court said that just because this fund is a public authority and performs some public work, it cannot be kept out of RTI.
This order was given during the hearing on the appeal of a person named Girish Mittal. Mittal had challenged the order of the single judge, in which the order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) was quashed. The CIC had earlier directed the Income Tax (IT) department to provide information to Mittal related to tax exemption given to the PM CARES Fund under RTI.
The division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia said that even though this fund performs a public function, it cannot be kept out of RTI merely because of it. The court also clarified that the PM CARES Fund does not lose its right to privacy, but it is necessary to maintain transparency in matters of public interest.
This fund does not fall within the exemption given in section 8(1)(j)
During the hearing, Girish Mittal’s lawyer argued that this fund does not come under the privacy exemption given in Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. He said that a person’s privacy should be protected, but this protection cannot be given to a public charitable trust like the PM CARES Fund. The division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia said that even though the fund performs a public function, it cannot be kept out of RTI merely because it does so. The court also clarified that the fund does not lose its right to privacy, but it is necessary to maintain public interest and transparency. The court has scheduled the next hearing of the case on February 10.
CIC does not have the authority to give instructions to provide information.
The single judge had earlier said that the CIC did not have the power to provide information under Section 138 (disclosure of information about assessees) of the Income Tax Act. He had allowed the petition of the CPIO of the IT department, challenging the CIC order regarding the RTI application (under Section 6) of Mumbai-based activist Girish Mittal.
Information was sought about the tax exemption given.
Mumbai-based activist Girish Mittal had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking information related to the tax exemption given to the PM CARES Fund. Mittal had sought the following information in the petition: Copies of all the documents submitted in the exemption application by the PM CARES Fund. Copy of file noting approving exemption. List of all exemption applications filed with the IT Department from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, including date of filing and date of exemption. If any application has been rejected and the reasons for rejection. The Central Information Commission (CIC) had earlier ordered to provide this information. However, in July 2022, the court had stayed this order of CIC, after which the matter reached the High Court for challenge.
Follow the LALLURAM.COM MP channel on WhatsApp
Click to read big news of India and abroad
Click here to read Read.com news in English
Click here to read sports news
Click to read big entertainment news
Comments are closed.