Vibhu Bakhru, J:

1. The petitioner calls into question rulings of the Central Information Commission (hereafter ‘CIC’) – order dated 15.04.2011 impugned in W.P.(C) No.3110/2011 and order dated 08.06.2011 impugned in W.P.(C) No.5809/2011 (hereafter ‘impugned orders’) - holding the petitioner to be a ‘Public Authority’ within the meaning of section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (hereafter ‘the Act’) and calling upon the petitioner to appoint a Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) and an Appellate Authority.

2. Briefly stated, the relevant facts pertaining to W.P.(C) No.3110//2011 are under:-

2.1 Respondent no.2 – Gaurav Tripathi, filed an application dated 30.07.2010 and respondent no.1 - Hatim Ali filed applications dated 23.09.2010 and 20.11.2010 under the Act with the petitioner seeking various information. The petitioner rejected the said applications alleging that the Act is not applicable as the petitioner is not a ‘public authority’ under Section 2(h) of the Act.

2.2 Thereafter, Gaurav Tripathi filed a complaint (No. CIC/SS/C/2010/ 000595) under Section 18 of the Act, before the CIC for taking an action against the PIO of the petitioner for denial of i