RBI Should Supply Information Relating to MTM

by

Ganpat Subramanian ganpat@rtiindia.org

I am attaching another landmark decision by the CIC.


Gist of the case:


Mr Raja M Shanmugham of Tiruppur sought through his RTI application on RBI, the bank-wise breakup of the MTM losses and latest figures available with RBI of the amount of losses suffered by Indian business houses with latest figures bank-wise and customer wise.


A few important observations in the IC's decision:


It is apparent from the scheme of the RTI Act that the Commission is a quasi- judicial body which is responsible for deciding appeals and complaints arising under the RTI Act. The Commission cannot abdicate its responsibilities under the RTI Act to RBI on the ground that the latter is an expert body. The Commission cannot rely solely on the decision of the public authority and must look into the merits of the case itself.

 

The RBI is a regulatory authority which is responsible for inter alia monitoring banks and financial institutions along with flow of public funds and forex in accordance with applicable law. In the present matter where MTM losses on currency derivatives are to the extent of more than Rs.32,000 crores, it is certainly a matter of national importance. There appears to be a large financial scam affecting the economy as a whole and citizens have a right to know about the same.

 

In the present matter, it is clear that while banks may have given information to RBI in confidence or in trust, there does not appear to be any duty cast upon RBI to act in their benefit.   RBI being a regulator of the banking sector obtains/maintains such information in regulatory/ supervisory capacity.   Therefore, there is no element of choice as such available to banks.   There does not appear to be a creation of any fiduciary relationship between RBI and the banks, as laid down above. Therefore, the PIO’s contention that information in queries 1 and 2 is exempt under Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act is rejected.

 Moreover, for the reasons mentioned above- a larger public interest would be served by disclosing this information under Section 8(2) of the RTI Act.

Click Here to Read the full version of the Decision of Central Information Commission in the case of Raja M Shanmugam vs RBI