W.P. (C) 4596/2007
Reserved on: 2nd August 2010
Decision on: 17th August 2010
IFCI LTD. ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Dinkar Singh and
Mr. Bharatshree, Advocates.
versus
RAVINDER BALWANI ..... Respondent Through: Mr. Shyam Moorjani with
Mr. Deepak Goel, Advocate.
"1. Is the Industrial Finance Corporation of India Ltd. (IFCI Ltd.) a public authority within the meaning of Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act)? That is the question that arises for consideration in this writ petition, which challenges an order dated 31st May 2007 passed by the Central Information Commission (CIC). The CIC answered the question in the affirmative.
...
35. While interpreting the words "established or constituted by or under any Central Act", occurring in the proviso to Section 4A (2) of the Companies Act, the Division Bench held that "an institution constituted by or under any Central Act could have reference to a company which, though formed and registered subsequently under the Companies Act, was conceived and contemplated under a Central Act such as the Repeal Act of 1993." Consequently, it was concluded that "IFCI Limited would have to be regarded as a public financial institution under Section 4A of the Companies Act. As a consequence, it would be a financial institution under Section 2(1)(m)" of the SARFAESI Act. This Court therefore held that even though the Central Government subsequently ceased to hold shares in IFCI Ltd., its essential character as a public financial institution would remain.
36. The above judgment reinforces the submission of the Respondent W.P.(C) No. 4596/2007 Page 25 of 26 that the Petitioner satisfies the requirements of Section 2(h)(d)(i) of the RTI Act.
37. Consequently the impugned order of the CIC is affirmed, and the writ petition is dismissed with costs of Rs. 10,000/- which will be paid by the Petitioner to the Respondent within four weeks. "
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