Section 3 of the Right to Information Act confers a right on every citizen to seek information from the government or public authorities within India. Thus, a citizen of India of any age, gender, religion, place, caste or creed may seek information held either by the public authority or under the control of the public authority. It implies that a company, corporation, co-operative society or incorporated body does not come under the purview of Section 3.
The expression “public authority” has been defined by Halsbury’s Law Dictionary as a person or administrative body entrusted with the functions to perform for the benefit of the public and not for private profit. The Supreme Court of India explained it as a body which has public or statutory duties to perform the duties and carries out its transactions for the benefit of public. Such an authority may make a profit for the public benefit (Sukhdev Singh v. Bhagatram Sardar Singh Raghuvanshi, AIR 1975 SC 133).
Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act defines the expression “public authority”. It means any authority or body or institution of self-government that is established or constituted:
• By or under the Constitution;
• By any other law made by the Parliament;
• By any other law made by the State Legislature;
• By notification issued or order made by the appropriate government.
It includes any: [i] Body owned, controlled or substantially financed; [ii] Non-Government organization substantially financed, directly or indirectly by the funds provided by the appropriate government.
Thus, the right to information is available only against public authority and not an individual. Further, the government machinery from which the information is sought must be a body or authority or institution of self-government and should be substantially financed by the government.
assification of public authority-
The definition of the term public authority categories it into five parts:
• Constitutional instrumentality
• Statutory bodies
• Notified Authorities
• Body owned, controlled or substantially financed by Government Funds
• Substantially financed NGOs