NEW DELHI: Expanding the ambit of Right to Information Act, the Delhi High Court today said even non-government and autonomous organisations can come within the ambit of the transparency law if it received funds from the government for "larger societal goals".

Justice S Ravindra Bhat held that government's control over the functioning of the organisation is not relevant to decide whether they were public authority or not. The verdict dismissed the contention of the Organising Committee for Commonwealth 2010 and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) that they were not public authority liable to reveal information under the RTI Act.

The Court said despite being autonomous and free from government control in their functioning, the games organising Committee and IOA were public authority and liable to reveal information under the RTI Act. The Committee had challenged the Centre's decision to declare it as a public authority under the transparency law. "...that the institution or organisation is not controlled and is autonomous is irrelevant; indeed, the concept of non-government organisation means that it is independent of any manner of government control in its establishment, or management. "That the organisation does not perform or pre-dominantly perform public duties too may not be material as long as the object for funding is achieving a felt need of a section of the public, or to secure larger societal goals," Justice Bhat said in 57 page verdict.