Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased toto issue a Writ, Order or Direction more particularly, one in the nature of Writ of "Mandamus" declaring the action of the and 2nd Respondents subjecting the Petitioners to the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005 for the purpose of appointing Public Information Officer vide proceedings No. JNTUK/RTI Cell/Affiliated Colleges/2013 dated 06.08.2013 and also consequently issuing proceedings including vide Lr. No. E3/1954/59/RTI act/2015 (a) dated 06.08.2015, Lr. No. E3/5143/64/RTI Act/2015 dated 18.08.2015, Lr. No. E3/1954/59/RTI act/2015 dated 26.09.2015 and Lr. No. E3/1954/59/RTI act/2015 dated 26.09.2015 as illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional and ultra vires the provisions of the Right to Information Act. 2005 and consequently quash the same and pass

IA NO: 1 OF 2015(WPMP 44332 OF 2015 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased to stay all further proceedings vide No. JNTUK/RTI Cell/Affiliated Colleges/2013 dated 06.08.2013 appointing the Principal of the 2nd Petitioner as the Public Information Officer and the subsequent proceedings vide Lr. No. E3/1954/59/R'FI act/2015 (a) dated 06.08.2015, I,r. No. E3/5I43/64/RTI Act/2015 dated 18.08.2015, Lr. No. E3/1954/59/RTI act/2015 dated 26.09.2015 and Lr. No. E3/1954/59/RT1 act/2015 dated 26.09.2015 issued by the 2nd Respondent pending disposal of the Writ Petition.

The Court made the following:

ORDER:

The present writ petition has been filed, under Article 226 of Constitution of India, seeking the following relief:

“…to issue a Writ, Order or Direction more particularly, one in the nature of Writ of “Mandamus” declaring the action of the 1st and 2nd respondents subjecting the petitioners to the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005 for the purpose of appointing Public Information Officer vide proceedings No.JNTUK/RTI Cell/Affiliated Colleges/2013, dated 06.08.2013 and also consequently issuing proceedings including vide Lr.No.E3/1954/59/RTI Act, 2015 (a) dated 06.08.2015, Lr.No.E3/5143/64/RTI Act/2015, dated 18.08.2015, Lr.No.E3/1954/RTI Act/2015 dated 26.09.2015 and Lr.No.E3/1954/59/RTI act/2015 dated 26.09.2015 as illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional and ultra vires the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005 and consequently quash the same and pass such other order or orders…”

The case of the petitioners, in brief, is that the 1st petitioner-Society established the 2nd petitioner-Institution, which is a private, unaided and self- financing educational institution affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada. The institution does not receive any grant or financial assistance from the Government. The present Writ Petition challenges the proceedings dated 06.08.2013, whereby the Principal of the 2nd petitioner- Institution was designated as the Public Information Officer under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (for short, “the RTI Act”), and the subsequent directions requiring the institution to furnish information to the 3rd respondent under the said Act. The petitioners contend that the 2nd petitioner-Institution is not a “public authority” within the meaning of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act and, therefore, cannot be compelled to designate a Public Information Officer or furnish information under the said Act. The 3rd respondent sought information from the institution under the RTI Act in August, 2015. The institution declined to furnish the information on the ground that it is a private, unaided institution and does not fall within the purview of the RTI Act. Thereafter, the concerned respondent authorities directed the institution to furnish the information. The petitioners contend that the said directions are without jurisdiction and contrary