RTI Act's provisions will apply to Century Club, rules K'taka HC

Says land donation by Mysore Maharaja in 1913 is substantial enough to warrant the club to furnish information under RTI Act

The Karnataka High Court has ruled that provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act is applicable to Bengaluru’s Century Club, abutting Cubbon Park, which received 7.5 acres of land from the then Kingdom of Mysore.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj dismissed the club’s petition challenging an earlier order directing it to furnish information under the RTI Act.

In 2012, Bengaluru-based advocate S Umapathy sought a certified list of records from the club under the RTI. The club denied the request, stating it was not a public authority.

Following Umapathy’s complaint, the Karnataka Information Commission (KIC) in 2018 directed the club to provide the information.

Century Club argued that it functions on member contributions and receives no state funding. It said the land was gifted in 1913 by the Maharaja of Mysore, the club’s then patron-in-chief, and claimed it is a society under the Societies Act, not a public authority.

Umapathy contended that the land’s present-day value, located in the heart of the city, is substantial.

The court noted that while operational expenses are member-funded, the club’s existence is rooted in the land grant.

“If the valuation of the land of 7.5 acres as of today is taken into consideration, the same would run into hundreds of crores if not thousands. The contribution made by the members of the petitioners-club... pales into insignificance,” Justice Govindaraj said.

He held that the substantial land grant by the erstwhile kingdom constitutes a significant state contribution, making the RTI Act applicable.