Bat for the better: On the BCCI and the RTI Act - The Hindu
The article discusses the ongoing debate regarding the applicability of the Right to Information (RTI) Act to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). While the BCCI maintains it is a private commercial body, various entities like the Supreme Court and the Law Commission have highlighted its public duties, monopoly status, and significant state benefits (e.g., tax exemptions, use of public infrastructure, police deployment). The Central Information Commission (CIC) recently ruled to exclude the BCCI from the RTI Act, reversing a previous order. The article argues that courts should treat tax exemptions as state grants and suggests amending Section 2(h) of the RTI Act to include bodies discharging public duties, especially those with monopoly power, while also considering their commercial interests.
The article discusses the ongoing debate regarding the applicability of the Right to Information (RTI) Act to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). While the BCCI maintains it is a private commercial body, various entities like the Supreme Court and the Law Commission have highlighted its public duties, monopoly status, and significant state benefits (e.g., tax exemptions, use of public infrastructure, police deployment). The Central Information Commission (CIC) recently ruled to exclude the BCCI from the RTI Act, reversing a previous order. The article argues that courts should treat tax exemptions as state grants and suggests amending Section 2(h) of the RTI Act to include bodies discharging public duties, especially those with monopoly power, while also considering their commercial interests.
Exam linkage
GS Paper II: Indian Polity and Governance - Statutory, Regulatory and various Quasi-judicial Bodies; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Transparency & Accountability.
Syllabus mapping
This topic appears in Mains
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