Free 7.5-Acre Cubbon Park Grant Makes Century Club a Public Authority Under RTI Act, Rules Karnataka High Court
A Karnataka High Court Division Bench holds that the 1913 free land grant by the Maharaja of Mysuru amounts to substantial indirect financing, bringing the private members' club within the RTI Act's definition of Public Authority.
A Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru, comprising Justice Anu Sivaraman and Justice Venkatesh Naik T, dismissed a writ appeal filed by Century Club, a prominent private members' club occupying 7.5 acres within Cubbon Park, Bengaluru. The Bench upheld concurrent findings by the Karnataka Information Commission and a learned Single Judge that the Club qualifies as a “Public Authority” under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The judgment, authored by Justice Venkatesh Naik T, turns on a single factual fulcrum: the Club's entire existence rests on a free land grant made in 1913 by the then Maharaja of Mysuru, and that grant constitutes substantial indirect financing by the State — irrespective of the Club's own member-funded day-to-day operations.
The Dispute Before the High Court
Century Club is a society registered under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960, with its registered office at No. 1, Cubbon Park, Bengaluru. Its origins trace to the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysuru, Sri Narasimha Raja Wodeyar, and Sir M. Visveswaraya. On 27 October 1913, the Maharaja granted the Club 7.5 acres of land free of cost for its activities, and the Club has used that land ever since for sports, leisure, and recreational facilities exclusively available to its members.
On 11 December 2012, Respondent No. 1, Sri S. Umapathy, applied to the Club under Section 6 of the RTI Act seeking certified copies of records catalogued under Section 4(1)(a) and information published under Section 4(1)(b) of the Act. The Club replied on 19 December 2012 stating plainly that it was not a “Public Authority” as defined under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act and would not entertain the request.
Umapathy then filed a complaint on 26 June 2013 before Respondent No. 2, the Karnataka Information Commission, under Section 18 of the RTI Act bearing KIC No. 6921 PTN/2013. He sought a declaration that the Club is a Public Authority and a direction to appoint a Public Information Officer and a First Appellate Authority.
Karnataka Information Commission Order and the Writ Petition
After hearing both sides, the Karnataka Information Commission passed an order on 4 October 2017 declaring the Century Club a Public Authority under the RTI Act. The Commission directed the Registrar of Co-operative Society to issue a notification under Section 19(8)(a) of the Act for appointment of a Public Information Officer. The Commission reasoned that the free land grant of 1913 amounted to substantial finance by the Government, and that the Club had been enjoying 7.5 acres without paying any rent, lease, or royalty — causing a continuing loss to the State exchequer.
The Century Club challenged this before a Single Judge in Writ Petition No. 13336 of 2018 (GM-RES). The Single Judge dismissed the writ petition on 8 July 2025, relying on the Supreme Court decisions in Thalappalam Service Cooperative Bank Limited and Others v. State of Kerala and Others, reported in (2013) 16 SCC 82, and D.A.V. College Trust and Management Society and Others v. Director of Public Instructions and Others, reported in (2019) 9 SCC 185. The Club then filed Writ Appeal No. 1351 of 2025 under Section 4 of the Karnataka High Court Act, 1961.
Century Club's Arguments on Appeal
Sri Prashanth Murthy S.G., appearing for the appellant, pressed four distinct grounds why the Club falls outside Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
The Club argued it was not established by or under the Constitution, by any law of Parliament, by any law of the State Legislature, or by any notification or order of the appropriate Government. It was formed voluntarily by private individuals and registered under what was then the Mysore Societies Regulation No. III, 1904 — an enabling statute, not a constitutional one. No government notification ever conferred public character upon it.
On the financing question, the Club contended that the land was granted by the then Maharaja of Mysuru in his capacity as Patron-in-Chief of the Club, not as a sovereign act of the State. The Club pointed to the Supreme Court's ruling in Thalappalam Service Cooperative Bank to argue that the requirements of law for treating an entity as substantially financed had simply not been met. The Club also challenged the Commission's jurisdiction, arguing that no power to issue declaratory reliefs of the kind sought by Umapathy vests in the Commission under the RTI Act.
Sri S. Umapathy, appearing as party-in-person for Respondent No. 1, countered that entities receiving substantial benefits — whether direct or indirect, and regardless of the time elapsed — fall within the scope of Public Authority under the RTI Act. He submitted that a 7.5-acre grant in the heart of Bengaluru, abutting Cubbon Park, plainly satisfies the threshold of substantial indirect financing.
How the Division Bench Reasoned
Justice Venkatesh Naik T examined Section 2(h) of the RTI Act closely. The provision defines Public Authority to include any non-Government organisation “substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government.” The key question was whether the 1913 land grant constitutes such financing.
The Bench addressed the Maharaja argument head-on. It found that no specific document had been placed on record to show that the 7.5-acre land belonged personally to the Maharaja of Mysuru. A grant made in the name of the Maharaja, the Bench held, indicates it was not his private property. Pre-independence grants by a King or Ruler made free of cost are “generally recognised as an Act of the State or the sovereign rather than a strictly private transaction.”
The Bench then made a finding that is central to the outcome: the Club's entire physical existence depends on this land. Without it, the Club's sports, leisure, and recreational activities could not be carried out at all. The day-to-day expenses are met by membership fees, but the land itself — the foundation of every activity the Club conducts — was obtained for free. In this context, even if one were to set aside any ongoing governmental control, the original financing through the land grant alone is decisive.
On the valuation question, the Bench agreed with the Single Judge's observation: the current market value of 7.5 acres abutting Cubbon Park would run into hundreds of crores, or even thousands of crores, making any membership fee contribution pale into insignificance by comparison. This disproportion, the Bench held, confirms that the State contribution is substantial.
The Bench also noted that the Club pays no rent, lease, or royalty to the Government for the land. The continued occupation of prime public land without any payment is itself a form of ongoing indirect financing. The Club cannot, the Bench reasoned, enrich itself at the cost of public money and simultaneously resist public accountability obligations under the RTI Act.
Having found substantial indirect financing established, the Bench held that the Single Judge was correct in relying on Thalappalam Service Cooperative Bank and D.A.V. College Trust and Management Society to conclude that the Century Club is a Public Authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act and that the obligations under Section 4(1)(a) and (b) of the Act apply to it.
Outcome
The Division Bench dismissed Writ Appeal No. 1351 of 2025 without costs on 10 July 2026. All pending interlocutory applications stood dismissed as a consequence. The Karnataka Information Commission's order of 4 October 2017 — declaring the Century Club a Public Authority and directing the appointment of a Public Information Officer — therefore stands confirmed.