Is the CCTV footage of a bank liable to be disclosed under RTI?
25 Feb, 2013
Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) seeking information about CCTV viewing and footage for some months including the date of the incident (an incident had taken place in which there was an unpleasant exchange between the appellant and the branch manager) in question. The Public Information Officer (PIO) provided point wise information and no CCTV footage was provided.
Proceedings
During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the respondent stated that the problem was caused by the appellant and the matter was taken to a consumer court. The respondent stated that the technical system of the CCTV footage is such that after 30 days, there is an automatic rewriting on the tape. This is an inbuilt system which accounts for the non-availability of the CCTV footage about which the appellant has already been informed. The respondent further stated that regarding various queries posed by the appellant, the bank has made an effort to respond adequately. The respondent further stated that the appellant has not even turned up for the hearing and the matter should be treated as closed because the available information has already been provided.
View of CIC
The Commission rejected the appeal upholding the decision of the respondent.
Citation: Mr. Harish Bhatia v. Punjab National Bank in Decision No. CIC/SM/A/2012/000588/VS/02171
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1077
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission