RIL to be made a party in the appeal against order for disclosure
7 Dec, 2012After hearing an appeal under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from Bengaluru-based lawyer and RTI activist Arun Agarwal, the Chief Information Commissioner at the Central Information Commissioner (CIC), Mr. Satyananda Mishra, had issued orders to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to disclose information pertaining to the details of entities involved in the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) insider trading case. SEBI had approached Bombay High Court challenging the order of CIC contending that information cannot be provided as it falls under subsection 1(d), (h), (e), (g) and (j) of section 8 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act and that the disclosure would impede the ongoing quasi-judicial proceedings.
Hearing the appeal, Justices D Y Chandrachud and A A Sayed said that as the disclosures pertain to RIL, it should be given an opportunity to be heard. Holding that RIL should be given an opportunity to be heard in the matter as the disclosures pertain to the company, the High Court has issued directions to make it a party to the appeal against the CIC order. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for December 19.