Information regarding the NPAs sold by IDBI
12 Jun, 2012Background
The appellant sought information regarding the NPAs sold by IDBI to certain companies for particular years along with the book value and the price at which it was sold. The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed that such details are not readily available and cited section 7(9) An information shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or would be detrimental to the safety or preservation of the record in question. that it would disproportionately divert the resources of the bank. In reply to the first appeal, the First Appellate Authority (FAA) directed the PIO to review his reply and send a fresh reply within 10 working days. The PIO again denied the information under section 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; and 8(1)(e) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; of the RTI Act stating that information regarding the book value of the NPA and price at which it is sold is of commercial confidence and disclosure of this information would hurt the competitive positions of the third party which have brought the NPAs. He also referred to section 7(9) An information shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or would be detrimental to the safety or preservation of the record in question. .
View of CIC
The Central Information Commission (CIC) accepted that the sought information would be exempt under section 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; of the RTI Act. However, the CIC directed the PIO to severe the information under section 10 of the RTI Act about the book value and the sale value of the NPAs and provide the balance information to the appellant.
Citation: Mr. Rameshwar Dass Saini v. IDBI Bank in Decision No. CIC/SG/A/2011/003657/18205
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/373
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission