Allow Cookies!
By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies
The bench of Justice Challa Kodanda Ram at Hyderabad High Court has held that the religious institutions such as temples, churches and mosques, which are not financed or funded by the government, do not fall within the purview of Right to Information Act, 2005.
The writ petitions filed by various religious institutions, charitable endowment trusts and some of the trustees or executive officers of temples were heard together as they all questioned either invocation of the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005 with respect to their organization or the circulars issued by the government directing the respective organizations to designate and constitute ‘Public Information Officers’ and other officers to operationalize the mechanism for providing information under the 2005 Act.
The court observed that the issues raised in these cases related purely to the question of law, i.e, concerned with interpretation of the provisions of the 2005 Act or some or the other provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions & Endowments Act,1987 and hence, the factual scenario is not to be set out. The Court agreed with the contentions of the petitioners that such institutions do not answer the description of “public authority” as defined under section 2(h) of the Act.
86540
103860
630
114
59824