Delhi High Court Refuses Petition to Classify Ram Temple Trust as Public Authority

The Delhi High Court declined a petition challenging the Central Information Commission's decision against classifying the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust as a public authority. The Ministry of Home Affairs and Trust representatives argued the Trust's autonomy, leading the court to send the case back to the CIC.

In a significant legal decision, the Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking to designate the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust as a public authority. The petition, brought forward by Neeraj Kumar, contested the Central Information Commission's (CIC) previous ruling from July 2022, which denied release of information regarding the Trust's Chief Public Information Officer and First Appellate Authority.

The petitioner's attempts to acquire similar information through an RTI request to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) were also unsuccessful, as the Ministry contended that the Trust does not meet the criteria of being owned, controlled, or financed by the government, thereby excluding it from the definition of a public authority. Represented by noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Kumar sought the Delhi High Court's intervention to reverse the CIC's ruling.

Justice Sanjeev Narula presided over the hearing, with opposition from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ram Janmbhoomi Trust. Advocates Chetan Sharma and Nishant Gautam argued that the Trust operates independently and should maintain its current status. Ultimately, the court refrained from any intervention, instead directing the parties to present their arguments to the CIC for further consideration. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)