SEBI directed to disclose the entities involved in the Reliance insider trading case
16 Nov, 2012On an appeal by Arun Kumar Agarwal, a Bangalore-based lawyer, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Public Information Officer (PIO) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to share the details several entities that were involved in the Reliance Petroleum (RPL) insider trading case in 2007. The SEBI had refused to share the information with the appellant under RTI Act on the grounds that investigations and quasi-judicial proceedings were pending. The CIC also directed SEBI to share details of the investigation reports and proceedings on the consent application filed by Reliance Industries (RIL).
The CIC ruled that the disclosure of this information would serve a larger public interest and directed the PIO to provide the information to the appellant within 10 working days of receiving this order. Further, the details of the file notings and other proceedings that led to the notification of the consent order mechanism in 2007 was also directed to be provided.
The use of the Right to Information (RTI) Act by the corporate world has been on the rise in India.