Accounts of a Co-operative society
9 Dec, 2011The Applicant sought information about draft/Cheque nos. issued by the Delhi State Co-operative Bank specifying the draft/Cheque numbers along with the date of issuance. The PIO denied the information claiming exemption under Section 8 (1) (j) of the RTI Act and added that the Applicant was not the authorised signatory of the account to which the information pertained. In the appeal filed before the FAA, the applicant stated that he has sought the information in the capacity of being a member of the Co-operative Society. The Appellant further submitted that accounts of a Co-operative Society are public accounts and hence the Section 8 of the RTI Act does not apply to it. The FAA held that either the Applicant should provide information of being the authorised signatory in the account or should attain permission from such authorised office bearers of the society to provide the required information.
View of the CIC
The applicant approached the Central Information Commission and alleged that the mismanagement of the funds of the society coupled with corruption at the management level are the reasons which have provoked him to seek the information as a member who has a share in the assets and liabilities of the society. The Respondent submitted that the authorised office bearers of the Co-operative Society generally operate the accounts of the respective society in the Co-operative Bank. The Respondent Bank is merely a custodian of the money belonging to the members of the Co-operative society and is not in a position to provide information about amounts paid to members and others. The Commission directed the PIO to initiate proceedings under Section 11 of the RTI Act and depending on the submissions of the Third Party and the Appellant decide the issue of whether the information held by the Bank are to be disclosed.
Comments
Disclosure of third party information should never be done without giving an opportunity to the third party to offer their comments.
Citation: Mr. Sunil Sachdeva v. Delhi State Co operative Bank Ltd. in File No: CIC/AD/A/2011/002199