IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that a Comunidade is not a public authority under the RTI Act, thus not subject to its obligations.

JUDGMENT :

(M.S. Karnik, J.) :

1. These petitions raise common issues and hence disposed of by a common judgment. The issue that arises in these petitions is whether the Right to Information Act, 2005 (‘RTI Act’, for short) applies to Petitioner-comunidades.

2. We briefly refer to the facts of the case in Writ Petition no. 1177 of 2018 :

The respondent no.1 filed an application to the respondent no.2- Administrator of Comunidade, North Zone, Mapusa, for information under the RTI Act as regards documents relating to the petitioner- Comunidade. The respondent no.2 by Memorandum dated 29.09.2014, stated that the information sought pertains to records which are held by another Public Authority i.e. Comunidade of Pilerne and hence it is for the Escrivao/Clerk/Registrar to supply the same. The respondent no.1 preferred a first appeal no. RTI/AC-II/APL/17/2014 under Section 19 of the RTI Act. On 11.11.2014, the petitioner informed the respondent no.2 that the RTI Act does not apply to the Comunidade. The respondent no.2- Administrator informed the respondent no.1 (applicant) that in respect of the information sought under the application dated 05.09.2014, the attorney of the petitioner has refused to furnish the information. Respondent no.1 moved an application before the First Appellate Authority in December 2014 to add the petitioner as a respondent in the appeal and, as such, the petitioner was added as respondent no.2 in the said appeal. The petitioner filed a reply on 17.07.2015 in the said appeal. The First Appellate Authority disposed of the appeal on 11.03.2016 by directing the petitioner to provide the information through the Administrator. The petitioner filed a second appeal on 18.10.2016 before the Goa State Information Commission (‘GSIC’, for short) under Section 19 of the RTI Act. The GSIC dismissed the second appeal no. 223/SIC/2016 on 21.03.2017 as not maintainable. Writ Petition no. 556 of 2017 filed by the petitioner in this Court, was disposed of by setting aside the first appellate order dated 11.03.2016 and by directing the First Appellate Authority to decide the same afresh. It was clarified that this Court had not dealt with the question of the maintainability of the second appeal. The First Appellate Authority allowed the appeal filed by the respondent no.1 on 23.11.2017 holding that the clerk or escrivao of the Comunidade of Pilerne is a deemed PIO under the RTI Act. The GSIC dismissed the second appeal no. 08/2018 filed by the petitioner by its order dated 30.08.2018 as not maintainable.

3. On instructions, the learned counsel for the petitioner stated before this Court that he will not press for challenge of prayer clause (A) and restricted his challenge to the order dated 23.11.2017 passed by the First Appellate Authority.

4. Learned Counsel for the petitioner stated that the petitioner is not a Public Authority under the RTI Act and hence the Comunidade is not covered under the provisions of the RTI Act. Our attention is invited to the relevant provisions of the RTI Act and the various decisions to submit that the order passed by the First Appellate Authority directing the Comunidade to provide the information to the respondent no.1 through the Administrator, called for interference. Learned Counsel therefore prayed that as an attorney of the Comunidade, it cannot be said that it falls within the ambit of the Public Information Officer within the meaning of RTI Act.

5. Mr. Lobo, learned Counsel for the petitioner in Writ Petition no. 1004/2017, placed reliance on the decisions in People Welfare Society, through its President Madhukarrao Wasnik vs. State Information Commissioner & Ors., 2024 SCC OnLine Bom 716 and Thalappalam Service Cooperative Bank Limited & Ors. vs. State of Kerala & Ors., (2013) 16 SCC 82 in support of his submissions to contend that the RTI Act is not applicable to the Petitioner.

6. Mr. Nadkarni and Ms. Simran Khadilkar, learned Counsel for the petitioner in Writ Petition no. 1177/2018, pla