Eight sports bodies asked to appoint information officers
ROHTAK: Haryana State Information Commission (HSIC) has ordered to bring eight Haryana sports associations under the purview of the right to information (RTI) Act of 2005.
The decision comes while disposing the appeal of RTI activist Harinder Dhingra, who had maintained in his complaint that the associations discharge public functions and thus, should be declared as public authorities.
The eight associations are Haryana Table Tennis Association, Haryana State Athletics Association, Haryana Weightlifting Association, Haryana Volleyball Association, Haryana Wrestling Association, Haryana Archery Association, Haryana Boxing Association and Haryana Chess Association.
The order directs these associations to declare their first appellate authorities and state public information officers (SPIO) within 21 days.
Passing the order, the HSIC considered the judgement of Delhi high court on Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in which the court observed that BCCI discharges public functions by selecting players for the Indian cricket team, who then represent the country at international level. The court had thus said in its judgement that BCCI was amenable to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Indian Constitution. The HSIC observed that function of sports associations was akin to BCCI, as these associations select players who represent the state in various tournaments. The HSIC further observed that these associations have the tendencies of making and breaking the careers of sportspersons in Haryana, and thus must be transparent in their functioning.
The HSIC further noted that the associations were using emblem and name of the state, which signify they are performing public functions. The order was passed by a bench of two information commissioners Hemant Atri and retired IPS officer PR Meena.