CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has ordered a fresh adjudication on a dispute over bringing the State cooperative societies under the purview of Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. Sunakar Rout and four others had initially raised the dispute by way of a writ petition challenging a communication of the secretary of United Puri Nimapara Central Cooperative Bank Ltd issued to secretaries of Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies functioning under it.
The communication had transferred an application to provide information under RTI. The petitioners had relied on the Supreme Court judgment in Thalappalam Ser. Coop. Bank Ltd and others versus State of Kerala and others (October 7, 2013) case and argued that a cooperative society does not fall within the definition of ‘public authority’ under RTI Act and therefore, the information sought for need not be supplied. But the Single Judge Bench of Justice Biswanath Rath dismissed the petition for having no merit on May 15.
The petitioners had then filed a writ appeal challenging Justice Rath’s order. On Thursday, the bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Savitri Ratho quashed Justice Rath’s order while restoring the writ petition for fresh hearing by the Single Judge. “We find that the Single Judge has indeed not considered any of the arguments advanced by the appellant petitioners of the petition,” the bench observed.