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President comes under RTI, make donations
public: Court
Thursday June 14, 2012 06:30:45 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi: Donations
made by the President of India out of public funds do not pertain
to his or her personal information, the Delhi High Court Thursday
said, and ordered details on disbursement of presidential funds
between 2004-11 to be made public.
The court dismissed a petition by the president's secretariat
challenging the Central Information Commission (CIC) order
directing it to disclose donations made by the president.
"The donations made by the President of India cannot be said to
relate to personal information of the president. It cannot be said
that the disclosure of the information would cause unwarranted
invasion of the privacy of either the President of India or the
recipient of the donation," Justice Vipin Sanghi said.
The court made it clear that the president also came under the
Right to Information (RTI) Act. "The President of India is not
immune from the application of the act."
The court ruled that the donations made by the president were out
of public money.
"Every citizen is entitled to know as to how the money, which is
collected by the state from him by exaction has been utilised.
Merely because the person making the donations happens to be the
President of India, is no ground to withhold the said
information," the court said.
The court order came on the plea filed by the president's
secretariat challenging the May 4 order of the CIC on an RTI
application filed by Nitesh Kumar Tripathy.
Tripathy's plea filed in June 2011 sought information relating to
the donations given by the president from "time to time".
The CIC in its order observed that "the donations given by the
president of India out of the public funds cannot be treated
differently from the subsidy given by the government to citizens
under various welfare schemes".
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) A.S. Chandhiok, appearing for
the president's secretariat contended before the court that the
information sought under the RTI Act on the financial assistance
given under the president's discretionary grant would infringe
upon the privacy of the party receiving the funds.
Justice Sanghi said in the judgment that he did not find any merit
in the ASG's submission.
"A person who approaches the president, seeking a donation, can
have no qualms in the disclosure of his/her name, address, the
amount received by him/her as donation or even the circumstance
which compelled him or her to approach the first citizen of the
country to seek a donation," said the court.
"Such acts of generosity and magnanimity done by the president
should be placed in the public domain as they would enhance the
stature of the office of the president of India. In that sense,
the disclosure of the information would be in the public interest
as well," the court said.
Justice Sanghi said: "Public funds are those funds which are
collected by the state from citizens by imposition of taxes,
duties, cess and services charges. These funds are held by the
state in trust for being utilised for the benefit of the general
public."
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