ISLAMABAD, Oct 14 (APP):The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan (FCCP) has ruled that declaring a company a public body under the right to information law requires a legal basis and concrete reasons, observing that 49 per cent shareholding or financial support by a government entity alone does not automatically qualify a company as a public body.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi allowed an appeal filed by Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company Limited and set aside the Pakistan Information Commission’s order dated September 10, 2024, as well as the Islamabad High Court’s judgment dated January 28, 2026.
In its judgment, the court observed that the Information Commission had failed to provide reasons for declaring the company a public body, while the Islamabad High Court had also failed to properly examine this legal aspect.
The court noted that the company was registered under the Companies Act, 2017, and operated under the supervision of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). However, these factors alone did not establish that it qualified as a public body under the right to information law.
According to the case record, a former employee of the company approached it on May 24, 2024, seeking records relating to payments made to its chief executive officer and their recovery. After the requested information was not provided, the former employee filed an appeal before the Pakistan Information Commission, which directed the company to furnish the information within 10 days.
The company challenged the commission’s order before the Islamabad High Court, but its petition was dismissed, prompting it to approach the Federal Constitutional Court.
The FCC, however, rejected the company’s objection regarding the constitution of the Information Commission, observing that under the relevant rules, the presence of two members constituted a quorum and that the law did not require all three members to be present for proceedings.
The court held that the legal objections concerning the company’s status and disclosure of the requested records had not been properly examined. It consequently allowed the appeal and set aside both the commission’s order and the Islamabad High Court’s judgment.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
