Copies of two letters exchanged between the zonal office & a branch of the bank regarding a housing loan were denied u/s 8(1)(e) - CIC: correspondence pertains to the loan account of the Appellant & is not held by the Respondents in a fiduciary capacity
17 Apr, 2015Order
This matter pertains to an RTI application dated 1.7.2013 filed by the Appellant, seeking copies of two letters exchanged between the zonal office and a branch of the bank. The CPIO responded on 5.8.2013 and denied the information in terms of section 8 (1) (e) of the RTI Act. Not satisfied with the reply of the CPIO, the Appellant filed an appeal to the First Appellate Authority on 8.8.2013. In his order dated 10.9.2013, the FAA upheld the CPIO’s reply. The Appellant filed second appeal dated 14.12.2013 to the CIC, which was received by the Commission on 9.1.2014.
2. The husband of the Appellant submitted hat a housing loan was availed of by the Appellant along with him. He further submitted that a case has been filed by the borrowers in the Consumer Court regarding charging of excessive interest on the loan account. The Respondents submitted that housing loan was granted to the Appellant for purchase of land and construction of house thereon, but construction was not carried out and the account has become NPA. The Respondents further submitted that copies of the letters sought by the Appellant were not provided as it is their internal correspondence and held in a fiduciary capacity.
3. We have considered the records and the submissions made before us by both the parties. We do not agree with the decision of the Respondents to invoke Section 8 (1) (e) to deny information. The correspondence pertains to the loan account of the Appellant and is not held by the Respondents in a fiduciary capacity. In view of the foregoing, we direct the CPIO to provide to the Appellant copies of the two letters sought by her in her RTI application dated 1.7.2013, free of cost, within fifteen days from the date of receipt of this order, under intimation to the Commission.
4. With the above direction, the appeal is disposed of.
5. Copies of this order be given free of cost to the parties.
(Sharat Sabharwal)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Smt. K.V. Padma v. Corporation Bank in File No. CIC/SH/A/2014/000140