CIAL's RTI applicability: Supreme Court stays Kerala High Court order

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Kerala High Court order that had declared Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) a public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing an appeal filed by the airport authorities against the high court’s August 5 ruling.

The lawyer representing CIAL argued that the airport is a company incorporated under the Companies Act and is neither a creation of Parliament nor funded by the government.

Earlier, a division bench of the Kerala High Court had upheld a single-judge bench order and a ruling by the State Information Commission (SIC), which had held that CIAL qualifies as a public authority under Section 2(h)(d)(i) of the RTI Act.

“The view taken by SIC in the impugned order dated June 20, 2019, is affirmed, holding that CIAL is bound to divulge necessary information and meet the statutory obligations placed upon its shoulders vide the various provisions of the RTI Act, including the appointment of Public Information Officer and divulging of necessary information in the said regard,” the high court had said.

PTI inputs