Sutlej Club a public authority

Kuldip Bhatia

Advertisement

Ludhiana, August 10

The elite Sutlej Club has been declared as a public authority under the provisions of the Right to Information Act. Ruling that the club would come under the ambit of the RTI Act, a full bench of the State Information Commission, Punjab, has asked the management of the club to appoint a public information officer (PIO) as also the first appellate authority (FAA) within 30 days of the receipt of the orders.

Delivering orders on July 30, 2015, in a complaint case (No. 475 of 2010) filed by city resident SS Chana, a full bench of the Commission headed by SS Channy observed that the said club was set up on a piece of land located in the prime area of the city which is worth several crores of rupees.

“The land was given to the club authorities free of cost, which is nothing but the capital/substantial funding. As no rent/lease money is being paid by the club management to the government, it is further clear that financial assistance being given to the institution by the government is recurring,” noted the Commission.

Citing a ruling by the apex court, the Bench said the Supreme Court had recognised that the Right to Information is a fundamental right of the citizens of India under Article 19(1) of the Constitution of India. “The Act has codified this fundamental right mandating that every citizen shall have the right to information, subject only to the provisions of the (RTI) Act.”

Parting with the orders, the Commission ruled: “We have no hesitation in concluding that the respondent Sutlej Club carries undisputed and undeniable elements of being a Public Authority under the Act as it has been given substantial financial assistance. Without such assistance, in the shape of a valuable piece of land free of cost and other assistance for creation of partial infrastructure by the government, the Sutlej Club could have never come into existence and it would have never been in a position to carry on its activities.”

Chana, assisted by TS Bakshi, MS Bhalla and Col (Retd) Harjap Singh, all members of the Sutlej Club, had to fight a prolonged battle before the Sutlej Club, with the deputy commissioner as its ex-officio president, was brought under the ambit of the RTI Act.

He filed the complaint on January 8, 2010, about the refusal of the club to supply information under the RTI Act and when the Commission ruled in his favour, the Club went into appeal to the Punjab and Haryana High Court which was dismissed on May 9, 2011. The second appeal (LPA 1174 of 2011) filed by the Club was again remanded to the State Information Commission and a full bench started the hearing on November 10, 2014.