Are the details of penalty imposed on Citibank by RBI liable to be disclosed?

Background

Referring to newspaper reports, the appellant sought detailed information whether about the Citibank was found guilty of violating the rules of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or FEMA Act; and if yes, what were these violations and the action taken by RBI. The PIO denied the information under section 8 (1) (e) of the RTI act.

View of CIC

During the hearing, the Respondent submitted that information was earlier denied but was provided subsequently and the PIO had also provided the details of the violations for which Citibank has been found guilty. The Appellant stated that he wanted the specific details of the violations and supporting documents thereof. The Commission rejected the appeal holding that this information had not been sought initially in the RTI application and hence cannot be allowed to be added subsequent to that he had not sought earlier.

Citation: Mr. S. N. Jhunjhunwala v. Reserve Bank of India – Dept. of Banking Supervision in file no. CIC/SG/A/2011/003744