Punjab State Information Commission on Wednesday held that Punjab Cricket Association would be considered as “public authority” under the Section 2(h) (d) (i) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Punjab Chief Information Commissioner SS Channy said that the State Information Commission, in a complaint titled Cricketers’ Welfare Association president Anil Kashyap versus public information officer of the office of Punjab Cricket Association president, had held the PCA to be a public authority within the definition of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act vide order dated August 19 2008.
He said that this order was challenged by the Association in a writ petition which was dismissed by a learned Single Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court vide judgment dated May 9, 2011.
“Thereafter, the PCA filed a lPA (letters Patent Appeal) which was decided by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on December 12, 2013 wherein it set aside the orders of the State Information Commission and the learned Single Judge of the High Court. The matter was remanded back to the SIC for fresh decision,” he said.
Channy said that now the full bench of the State Information Commission, after going through all the relevant papers put on record, has unanimously held that PCA would have struggled had it not been in possession of the land in Mohali, which has been leased on a nominal amount coupled with a substantial grant of the government to convert it into a Cricket Stadium.
He said that the Commission also took note of the statement of the then PCA president IS Bindra made before the CBI as submitted by the appellant which reads as “Punjab Cricket Association is not a private organisation. It is a public body solely responsible for promotion, development and administration of the game of cricket, within the State of Punjab”.
In its decision, the State Information Commission has held that the PCA squarely fits into the parameters set forth in the judgment of the Supreme Court to qualify within the definition of a public authority under Section 2(h) (d) (i) of the RTI Act.