The petitioner-Nedungapra Service Co-operative Bank Ltd. is aggrieved by the issuance of Exts.P2 and P4 proceedings dated 26.05.2018 and 18.06.2018 respectively issued at the instance of the 1st respondent-The Public Information Officer/Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Ernakulam thereby the petitioner has been directed to make available a copy of the list of members of the petitioner-Co-operative Bank as on 25.05.2018.

2. The prayers in this writ petition (civil) are as follows:

“(ii) Call for the records leading to issue Exts.P2 & P4 and quash the same by issuing a writ of certiorari or any other appropriate writ order or direction.

(iii) Declare that in view of the Judgment of the Thalapalam SCB case reported in 2013 (4) KHC 131, petitioner is not a public authority and not amenable to the provisions of the RTI Act and cannot collect any information from the bank in order to pass it over to the third respondent.

(iv) Grant such other relief as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.”

3. Heard Sri. P.N. Mohanan, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and Smt. A.C. Vidhya, learned Government Pleader appearing for the official respondents 1 and 2. In the nature of the orders proposed to be passed in this writ petition, notice to the 3rd respondent is dispensed with.

4. From the materials on record, it appears that the contestant respondent No.3 had submitted Ext.P1 application dated 25.05.2018 before the 1st respondent seeking the following information :

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5. The 1st respondent is the notified Public Information Officer attached to the office of the Assistant Registrar of Co-operative Societies (General), Kunnathunadu, Ernakulam in terms of the provisions contained in the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. For collecting the information sought for as per item No.2 of Ext.P1, the 1st respondent had requested the petitioner-Co-operative Society as per Ext.P2 letter dated 26.05.2018, to make available copy of the list of the members of the petitioner-Co-operative Society as on 25.05.2018. The petitioner objected to the said request by filing Ext.P3 dated 05.06.2018. Taking the stand that the said information sought for by the 1st respondent is not one that is obliged to be maintained by the 1st respondent as per the provisions contained in the Act, Rules, Government Circulars, Government Orders etc., it is contended by the petitioner that there is no question of making available the said information. Thereafter, the 1st respondent has again requested the petitioner-Co-operative Bank by issuing Ext.P4 letter dated 18.06.2018, wherein, it has been intimated that under the mandatory provisions contained in Rule 33(4) of the Kerala Cooperative Societies Rules, 1969 framed under the enabling provisions contained in the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969, every Co-operative Society is obliged to maintain a list of its members as on the last day of the Co-operative year concerned and that a Co-operative Society is obliged to make available copies of such list to the members concerned. It is the proceedings at Exts.P2 and P4 that are under challenge in the above writ petition.

6. The specific contention raised by Sri.P.N.Mohanan, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner-Co-operative Society is to the effect that the information sought for as per item No.2 of Ext.P1 is not something which is obliged to be maintained by the office of the 1st respondent. Therefore, it is argued by the petitioner that going by the legal principles laid down by the Apex Court and by this Court in the matter of disclosure of information under the RTI Act by the Co-operative Societies, the said information is not a disclosable one. There cannot be any doubt that in the light of the decision of the Apex Court in Thalappalam Service Cooperative Bank Limited and others v. State of Kerala and others reported in (2013) 16 SCC 82, a co-operative society like the present petitioner would not fu