The Central Information Commission has once again brought Sanawar School under the purview of the RTI Act, reiterating it to be a public authority.
Deciding an appeal filed by RTI activist Rajinder K Singla, the commission has made it clear that the school was required to furnish information as per the provisions of the Act.
Established in 1847, The lawrence School – Sanawar has the distinction of producing some of the most influential brains in different walks of life, like Omar Abdullah, Captain Amarinder Singh, Sukhbir Singh Badal, Menaka Gandhi, Former Chief of Naval Staff Vishnu Bhagwat, Air Marshal KC Cariappa, Business honcho, Ness Wadia, Geetanjali Kirloskar, Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta etc.
CIC had earlier also declared The lawrence School, Sanawar to be a Public Authority but Himachal Pradesh High Court had sent back the matter to CIC last year.
Deciding the matter in favour of appellant Rajinder K Single, Information Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu held “As the entire land consisting of 127.47 acres with buildings, structures and trees thereon were considered as military lands and Defence Department transferred all that to the society, which proves that the Government has substantially funded the society to run this school by giving land and buildings.”
The Commission also observed: “Moreover, the school is being run by a society registered under Section 19 of the Societies Registration Act, 1860 which imposed an obligation on society to provide information to any person.
The Commission recorded “the land on which the school is located was purchased by one lawrence, a British officer, in the year 1947. When India became independent, there were no claimants to the land, and the buildings or the school during 1947.”
Quoting Article 296 it held that any property in the territory of India which, if this constitution had not come into operation, would have accrued to His Majesty or, as the case may be, to the ruler of an Indian state by escheat or lapse, or as bona vacantia for want of a rightful owner, shall, if it is property situate in a state vest in such State, and shall in any other case, vest in the Union.”
This shows that the Government has substantially funded the society to run this school by giving land and buildings. If the Defence Department cancels or withdraws everything, the school cannot function at all, the order says.
Hence, on application of this test to the lawrence School, it can be declared a public authority under 2(h). It has also been stated that the school entirely runs on funds by its alumni, which clearly shows that he school is in no position to run on its own.