New Delhi, Jan 7 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Thursday ruled that the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CGOC) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) fall under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and have to provide information to an applicant.
Dismissing the appeals of the Games Organising Committee and the IOA against the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) order to provide information, Justice Ravinder Bhatt ruled that both are public authorities under the RTI Act and have to provide information and cannot keep their accounts private.

The CGOC had contended that it is an independent and autonomous body, not liable to reveal information under th RTI Act.

On the other hand, the central government said that almost whole budgetary support to the project is provided by the government and the committee cannot take the plea that it is an independent body.

The controversy erupted after a person filed an RTI application in the sports ministry, seeking to know the details of payments made to actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Saif Ali Khan among others for taking them to the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Melbourne in 2006.

The CIC in November 2006 held that the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was a public authority and directed it to provide the particulars of expenses incurred by it on tours in connection with the Commonwealth Games to the RTI applicant.