Mangalore, August 30: The Karnataka High Court has in an order ruled that the Mangalore Special Economic Zone Ltd (MSEZL) is covered under the ambit of the Right to Information Act.
The company had claimed that it is a private company and not a public authority and hence had moved court after the State Information Commission had insisted that it should provide information under the RTI Act.
In a recent order dated 14.08.2012, Justice Mohan Shantanagoudar of the High Court of Karnataka dismissed the Mangalore SEZ Ltd.'s plea and upheld the Karnataka Information Commission's view that “the petitioner company Mangalore SEZ Limited, Mangalore can be classified as a 'public authority' and Non-Government Organisation which is substantially financed directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government.” Further, the Court has directed that the company “is bound to furnish the information as sought for by the private respondents.”
MSEZL had been refusing to entertain any applications under the RTI Act and was withholding information even from MSEZL's Project Displaced Families claiming it was a private company not a public authority for which the Act is applicable, despite having ONGC and KIADB as significant shareholders.
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