Public Funds must be accountable and open to public scrutiny - Appeal Court

In another judgement broadening the scope of the applicability of the Right to Information Act, the Court of Appeal recently held that any amount of money spent by a public authority must be accountable and made available for scrutiny when requested by a member of the public.

The Court of Appeal delivered this judgement in response to an appeal filed by People's Bank, challenging the Right to Information Commission's decision directing the release of information related to the expenditure incurred for the 2022 Poson Poya almsgiving and the Poson Bathi Gee event organized by the Buddhist Society of the Anuradhapura Regional Branch of the People’s Bank.

The Court of Appeal two-judge bench, comprising Justices R. Gurusinghe and M.C.B.S. Morais held that just as every co-owner of a piece of land has ownership over every square inch of that land, any amount of money spent by a public authority must be accountable and made available for scrutiny when requested by a member of the public, unless withheld for cogent and cohesive reasons. Moreover, such actions must be conducted with transparency.

The Buddhist Society of the Anuradhapura Regional Branch of People's Bank is a part of the relevant public authority itself and not a separate, independent entity. Therefore, according to Section 3(1) of the RTI Act, every citizen has the right of access to information in the possession, custody, or control of a public authority. This provision ensures that any information held by any body or entity forming part of a public authority, including subsidiaries or internal divisions, is subject to the same transparency and accountability standards as any other records maintained by the parent organization," Justice Morais observed.

The appellant D. Sarathchandra, through an information request dated 25th of July 2022, had sought details pertaining to the expenditure incurred in connection with the 2022-Poson Poya almsgiving‘ and the Poson Bathi Gee‘ event organized by the Buddhist Society of the Anuradhapura Regional Branch of the People’s Bank.

The Information Officer of the People's Bank by letter dated 9th August 2022, responded to this request and denied the providing of the requested information. This refusal was made in accordance with Section 5(1)(a) of the RTI Act, on the grounds that the information sought constituted third-party information'.

The appellant subsequently lodged an appeal with the Designated Officer of the People’s Bank and that attempt was also futile.

Dissatisfied with the decision of the Designated Officer, the appellant submitted an appeal dated 27th October 2022 to the RTI Commission, pursuant to Section 32 of the RTI Act.

The RTI commission directed the release of all information stipulated in the Information Request of the appellant.

The Court dismissed the appeal by awarding Rs.100,000 to the appellant as legal cost.

Kaushalya Nawaratna, PC with Gimhani Jayaweera for People's Bank. Senior Counsel Himalee Kularathna appeared for the Right to Information Commission. Senior Counsel Sandamal Rajapaksha appeared for the Appellant.