Delhi HC refuses to entertain plea to declare Ram Janmbhoomi Trust a public authority

New Delhi [India], December 20 (ANI): The Delhi High Court refused to entertain a petition seeking to declare the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust as a public authority on Friday.

The petition, filed by Neeraj Kumar, challenged the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) decision on July 8, 2022, which had refused to disclose details about the Chief Public Information Officer (CPIO) and the First Appellate Authority of the Trust.

Kumar had also filed an RTI request with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in July 2022, seeking similar information, but this was rejected by the MHA. The Ministry argued that the “Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust” is neither owned, controlled, nor financed by the Government of India, and therefore, does not fall under the definition of a public authority.

Represented by lawyer Prashant Bhushan, the petitioner sought the intervention of the Delhi HC to overturn the CIC’s order.

The bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula heard the matter. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Ram Janmabhumi Trust opposed the petition. Senior advocates Chetan Sharma (ASG) and Nishant Gautam (CGSC) argued that the Trust is an autonomous body and should not be categorized as a public authority.

After considering the arguments, after hearing the matter at length, the court refrained from intervening and disposed of the petition by sending it to the CIC with the direction to the parties to present their case before it.