Case/Question decided:
Pursuant to Right to Information Act, Mr. X approached Registrar of Companies (ROC), requesting him to provide some information/documents maintained by them under Section 610 of the Companies Act 1956.
The ROC officials replied to Mr. X that the required information is available in the public domain (namely on MCA website) and even certified copies of the documents required can be obtained from their office by following the procedure prescribed and on payment of requisite fee. They further clarified that the procedure prescribed under the Right to Information Act for seeking information cannot be followed in the instant case.
Mr. X then approached Central Information commission and obtained order in favor of him, which directed the ROC to provide the required information pursuant to Right to Information Act.
In response to the order of Central Information commission, the ROC filed a writ petition, challenging the order and presented his views before the court.
Now, the question arises whether the views of ROC were held correct or not ?
Relevant Acts:
Companies Act 1956
Right to Information Act 2005
Clarification:
The view of ROC was held correct and the judgment was pronounced on the basis that the information required by Mr. X cannot be treated as information held by or under the control of Public Authority as contemplated under Section 2(j) of the RTI Act 2005 and henceforth squashed the order passed by Central Information commission.