The main legal point established is that the Agricultural Produce Market Committee is considered a local Authority by law made by the State Legislature, and therefore, the provisions of the RTI Act apply to it.

A.B. Chaudhari, J)

1. Heard.

2. Admit.

3. Assistant Government Pleader waives service for respondent nos. 2 and 3.

4. The instant appeal is taken up for final disposal by the consent of the learned Counsel for the rival parties.

5. The judgment and order dt. 16.8.2010 passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in Writ Petition No. 3871 of 2010 is under challenge in the present Letters Patent Appeal. In support of the appeal, Mr.Anupam Desai, learned Counsel for the appellant made the following submissions :

a) The appellant/Agricultural Produce Market Committee, Arvi is not a 'public authority' within the meaning of Section 2 (h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as “the RTI Act”) and therefore, the RTI Act is not applicable to the Appellant/Committee. If the Act itself does not apply to the Committee, the question of supplying an information even under Section 2 (f) of the RTI Act does not arise and therefore, the learned Single Judge erred in dismissing the Writ Petition filed by the appellant.

b) A Single Judge of this Court in the case of Dr.Panjabrao Deshmukh Urban Cooperative Bank, Amravati vs. State Information Commissioner, Vidarbha Region, Nagpur and Others in Writ Petition No. 5666 of 2007, decided on 13.1.2009 held that the Co-operative Bank is not a 'public authority' within the meaning of Section 2 (h) of the RTI Act. It was further held that the said bank is neither owned nor substantially financed by the State Government nor it is controlled by the State Government or the Central Government. This Court held in the said decision that the Directors of the said Cooperative Bank were not appointed by the Government nor the Government has any direct or indirect control over the functioning and management of the bank. He, therefore, submitted that the said decision has application in the instant case and the Single Judge ought to have followed the same.

6. The learned Counsel for the Appellant invited our attention to another decision dt. 1.10.2009 made by the State Information Commissioner, Amravati Bench, Amravati in Appeal No.1441 of 2008 (Jitendra Ashok Kuyre vs. First Appellate Officer and Office of the Assistant Registrar, Khamgaon and one another) wherein the APMC, Khamgaon, District Buldhana was held to be a Society which did not fall within the definition of 'public undertaking' and the said State Information Commissioner, therefore, relied upon the said decision of the Single Judge of this Court.

7. We have heard the learned Counsel for the appellant and we have also perused the impugned judgment and order, so also the judgment rendered by the learned Single Judge of this Court in Writ Petition No.5666 of 2007, dt. 13.1.2009. It is necessary to have a look at the relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 1963 (hereinafter referred to as “the APMC Act”). Section 2 (j) of the APMC Act reads thus :

“2 (j) 'Market Committee” or “ Committee” means a committee constituted for a market area under section 11 {and includes (The Bombay Agricultural Produce Market Committee established under clause (a) of sub-section (1A) (and the Divisional or Regional Market Committee declared under clause (a) of sub-section (1B) of section 13 and} a committee or committees constituted as a result or amalgamation of Market Committee or division of Market Committee under section 44}

It shows that a Market Committee means a Committee constituted u/s. 11.

8. Section 11 is contained in Chapter III of the APMC Act which reads thus :

“11. Establishment of Market Committees.

For every market area, there shall be established by the State Government a Market Committee consisting of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman and other members and different Market Committees may be established for regulating the marketing of different kinds of agricultural produce for the same market area or any part thereof. The Market Committee shall have all such p