#Transparency

Bombay HC rules that failure to supply society records within 45 days under Section 154B-8 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act triggers automatic disqualification, rejecting 'substantial compliance' arguments. The judgment reinforces statutory transparency obligations for co-operative society office-bearers, impacting committee members across Maharashtra.

NCLAT reinforces that resolution plans must provide full transparency in the Information Memorandum, including forensic audit details and asset valuation. Failure to disclose unexplained asset depletion or financial irregularities vitiates the plan's commercial wisdom, empowering adjudicating authorities to reject it outright.

Calcutta High Court quashes KMDA's land allotment to a cooperative society, ruling that public property disposal requires a published policy, public notice, and fair process to comply with Article 14. The judgment mandates transparency in administrative actions affecting public assets, impacting all government land allocation practices.

Rajasthan High Court ruled that universities cannot impose processing fees exceeding the statutory limits under the RTI Act Rules 2012 for providing answer book copies. The court held that a ₹1,000 processing fee per answer book violates Section 7 of the RTI Act, reinforcing fee caps to ensure public access to information without undue financial burden.

CIC holds that salary details of public servants must be proactively disclosed under Section 4(1)(b)(x) of RTI Act, irrespective of personal privacy claims under Section 8(1)(j).

Supreme Court strikes down preferential housing allotments to governing body members, upholding transparency and non-arbitrariness in public-spirited societies.

The Central Information Commission holds that cooperative housing societies functioning under Delhi Cooperative Societies Act are public authorities under RTI Act, 2005, and must comply with disclosure obligations.

Bombay High Court holds that cooperative banks are not public authorities under RTI Act, clarifying scope of disclosure obligations and limiting access to internal governance records.