Parmod Kumar vs United Commercial Bank (Uco) on 31 October, 2023

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Central Information Commission

Parmod Kumar vs United Commercial Bank (Uco) on 31 October, 2023

1. The issue under consideration arising out of the second appeal dated 28.03.2023 include non-receipt of the following information sought by the appellant through the RTI application dated 25.11.2022 and first appeal dated 27.01.2023:-

(i) Kindly provide the undersigned the copy of the restructuring policy of UCO Bank in accordance with the relevant RBI circulars issued from time to time in lieu of restructuring of stressed assets and NPA accounts.

(ii) Kindly provide information in the form of a copy of insurance policy obtained by your bank from the insurance company in context to all the assets mortgaged and hypothecated in the loan account of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited.

(iii) Kindly provide information in form of a copy of latest valuation report conducted by valuators upon instructions of UCO Bank in respect to all the properties mortgaged with UCO Bank in loan account of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited

(iv) Kindly provide information in the form of valuation of the stock as valuated by the valuators upon instructions of your bank in the loan account of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited.

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(v) Kindly provide information on the kind and nature of charge of UCO Bank on the loan of Nirbhai Textiles Privates Limited

(vi) Kindly provide information on the percentage of charge of your bank on the consortium loan of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited

(vii) Kindly provide information on the amount provisioning done till date in the account books of your bank in respect to the loan account of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited in relevance to the circulars issued by Reserve Bank of India from time to time.

(viii) Kindly provide information lf Indian Overseas Bank has complied with RBI circular no. RBI/2O13- 14/62 DBOD no.PB.BC.1/21.04.O48/2013-14 dated 01.07.2013 and Master Circular no.DBOD.No.BP.BC.9/21.04.O48/2012-13 dated 02.07.2012 in respect to declaration of the account of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited as NPA.

(ix) Kindly provide information if RBI circular no. RBI/2013-14/62 DBOD no.PB.BC.1/21.04.048/2013-14 dated 01.07.2013 and Master Circular no.DBOD.No.BP.BC.9/21.04.048/2012-13 dated 02.07.2012 is applicable on UCO Bank or not regarding account of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited.

(x) Kindly provide us details of interest charged (in percentage terms) in the loan accounts of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited alter declaration of NPA

(xi) Kindly provide us details of the penal interest charged in percentage terms in the loan accounts of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited after declaration of NPA

(xii) Kindly provide the undersigned the details of the charges paid to the resolution agency (other than bank interest) debited to the loan account of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited after declaration of NPA

(xiii) Kindly provide the undersigned the details of the charges (other than bank interest) debited to the loan accounts of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited after declaration of NPA

(xiv) Kindly provide information in form of copy of the latest and in force One Time Settlement policy of UCO Bank for settlement of stressed assets or non- performing assets of Indian Overseas Bank as applicable to the loan account of Nirbhai Textiles Private Limited. Etc. through 20 points

2. Succinctly facts of the case are that the appellant filed an application dated 25.11.2022 under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), UCO Bank, Chandigarh, seeking aforesaid information. The CPIO vide letter dated 09.01.2023 replied to the appellant. Aggrieved by the same, the appellant filed first appeal dated 27.01.2023. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) vide Page 2 of 8 order dated 09.03.2023 disposed of the first appeal. Aggrieved by that, the appellant filed second appeal dated 28.03.2023 before the Commission which is under consideration.

3. The appellant has filed the instant appeal dated 28.03.2023 inter alia on the grounds that reply given by the CPIO was not satisfactory. The appellant requested the Commission to direct the CPIO to provide the complete information and take necessary action as per Section 20 (1) of the RTI Act.

4. The CPIO replied vide letter dated 09.01.2023 and the same is reproduced as under:-

"i) Period pertaining to which restructuring policy required is not specified, hence, information sought is ambiguous. However, in general terms please note that the Policies of the Bank ore for internal circulation only the disclosure of which is exempted under Section 8(l)(d) of the RTI Act.

      ii)    Done by lead bank

      iii)   Done by lead bank.

      iv)    Done by lead bank. Drawing power allocated by lead bank based on
             assessment.

      v)     If pari passu with other WC lenders, charge by way of hypothecation of all

current assets of the company, both present and future (our share 32%) second pari passu charge for total WC limits only on entire fixed assets both movable and immovable of the company (both present & future) first charge with term loan (our share 32%)

vi) 32%

vii) Rs. 194483900.00 (nineteen crores forty four lacs eighty three thousand and nine hundred only) as on 30.11.2022.

viii) Query raised is clarificatory in nature and is not covered within the definition of 'information' as defined under section 2(f) of the RTI Act.

ix) Query raised is clarificatory in nature and is not covered within the definition of 'information' as defined under section 2(f) of the RTI Act.

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x). Rs. 326555691.22 (thirty two crores sixty five lakhs fifty five thousand six hundred ninety one and twenty two paise up till 30.11.2022 charged @ 13.15%.

xi) Rs 49666264.82 (Four crores Ninety-six lakhs sixty six, lakhs two hundred sixty four and eighty-two paise up till 30.11.2022 charged @2%

xii) Done by lead bonk Our shore is detective agency Rs. l7700.@ (Seventeen thousand seven hundred only) [15700.00 + 2000.00

xiii) Legal Expenses: 194425.00 (one lakh ninety four thousand four hundred and twenty five only) ( 50255.00 + 17250 + 3300.00 + 9000.00 + 1620.00 + 4000.00) Valuation: Rs. 4l 296.40 (Forty-one thousand two hundred ninety six and forty poise) (21000.00 + 11590.00 + 8706.40)insurance: Rs.

286448.14 (Two lakhs Eighty-six thousand four hundred forty-eight and fourteen paise) (132884.00 + 153564.14)Publication: Rs. 35851.0O (Thirty- five thousand Eight hundred and fifty one only (9856.00 + 493.00 + 25502.00) Total: Rs. 558020.54 (Five lakhs fifty-eight thousand twenty and fifty four poise

xiv) Query raised is clarificatory in nature and is not covered within the definition of 'information' as defined under section 2(f) of the RTI Act.

xv) The OTS offer was rejected by consent of all consortium members vide various Joint Lender Mailings. Minutes of Joint Lender meetings are with Lead Bonk (i.e. Indian Overseas Bank) xvi) Loss asset (as per RBI 557 report) xvii) Period pertaining to which policy is required is not specified, hence, information sought is ambiguous. However, in general terms please note that the Policies of the Bank are for internal circulation only the disclosure of which is exempted under Section 8(l)(d) of the RTI Act.

xviii) Account turned NPA on 30.06.2015 and interest charged was not linked with MCLR.

xix) Rs. 18581.00 xx) period pertaining to which policy is required is not specified, hence, information sought is ambiguous. However, in general terms please note that the Policies of the Bank are for internal circulation only the disclosure of which is exempted under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act.

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The FAA vide order dated 09.03.2023 agreed to the reply given by the CPIO.

5. The appellant and on behalf of the respondent Shri Surjeet Kumar, Asstt. General Manager, UCO Bank, Chandigarh attended the hearing through video conference.

5.1. The appellant inter alia submitted that he is a guarantor to the loan amount granted by the Respondent, which is the lead Bank of the consortium of lender banks. The account of Nirbhai Textiles, of which the Appellant is the guarantor, was declared NPA[Non Performing Asset] by the Banks and hence the need arose to seek relevant information for the purpose of restructuring the loan and enter into a OTS(One Time Settlement) with the lenders. Accordingly, the appellant filed the aforementioned RTI application seeking information primarily about the restructuring policy of the Bank.

5.2. The Appellant has placed on record written submission dated 17.10.2023 reiterating the above contentions and adding that multiple OTS proposals sent by him to the Respondent bank have been rejected which has compelled him to seek information about the amount at which the bank would be ready to settle the debt. He has relied on a decision dated 17.03.2021 of the Hon'ble Punjab & Haryana High Court in CWP no.836 of 2021 in the case titled as 'M/s Binus Trading Co. and Others Versus Punjab National Bank and Another', wherein counsel for the respondent bank had undertaken before the Hon'ble High Court that the complete copy of OTS policy will be supplied to the counsel of the petitioners. He has also submitted that the OTS Policy of various Nationalized Banks such as SBI and Punjab & Sind Bank have been uploaded to their respective websites of the bank and a link has been provided to the customers as well as General Public to download the respective OTS policies and submit the compromise/settlement proposals as per the policy. The Appellant further cited a decision dated 11.09.2020 passed by the Commission in case no.CIC/PNBNK/C/2018/157141 in the case titled Amardeep Singh Sandhu Versus Punjab National Bank wherein it was observed by this Commission that the applicant is a borrower and is entitled to receive the information in the form of OTS Policy. Another decision in Appeal no.CIC/MP/A/2014/000854 in the case titled as Pardeep Kumar, Mirzapur Versus Punjab National Bank, Varanasi Public Authority, has also been cited by the Appellant wherein this Commission had vide decision dated 16.03.2015 held as Page 5 of 8 follows: "OTS Scheme is meant for public and it should be placed in public domain". The Hon'ble Commission in its decision thus directed the respondents to provide a copy of the OTS Scheme applicable at the relevant time. In yet another a decision dated 29.06.2020 passed by this Commission in Appeal no.CIC/CANBK/A/2018140159 titled as Vijendra Kumar Versus CPIO Canara Bank, Jaipur, the Commission had categorically held in para no.6 "This may not be out of place to mention that policy decision of the bank which are affecting the public should be made available on the website of the bank". Further more in para no.6 of the decision the Hon'ble Commission has said "In view of this the respondent is directed to revisit the RTI application and provide copy of the latest copy of OTS".

The Appellant has also annexed Rin Samadhan Scheme 2022 of Punjab & Sind Bank and OTS Policy of District Central Co operative Bank, to support his contention that one time settlement policies "OTS Policy" are uploaded on the websites of the respective Nationalized Bank or on the internet for the benefit of the Non-Performing Assets Customers of the banks and also for the general public.

5.3. The respondent while defending their case inter alia reiterated their contention as already stated vide the reply of the CPIO reaffirming their response. It has been stated by the Respondent that some information about the restructuring policy is available on the website in public domain and such policies are formulated as per RBI guidelines which are revised from time to time.

6. The Commission after adverting to the facts and circumstances of the case which emerge from hearing both the parties and perusal of records, observed that though the Respondent had provided some information to the appellant in response to his queries, he is dissatisfied on account of denial of the primary query, viz. the restructuring policy of the Bank. The reply given by the respondent with respect to the appellant's query about restructuring policy is erroneous because on the one hand they have declined response stating that the information sought was not specific while on the other hand, the respondent had claimed exemption under 8 (1) (d) of the RTI Act. The respondent failed to substantiate their case as to how the information about the restructuring policy was Page 6 of 8 exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act. The Appellant contended that his primary query is limited to the general policy of the Bank for restructuring of loans and OTS policy, in order to repay his loan. The appellant is himself the guarantor and liable to repay the loan, hence, the information about OTS policy of the Bank is directly related to him. Hence denial of information by the Respondent to the affected party is legally untenable.

Thus, it is hereby directed that the CPIO of the Respondent Bank shall provide the restructuring policy/OTS Policy which is currently in operation, to aid in the process of settlement of NPA by the borrower. Disclosure of information about OTS policy of the Banks, particularly with respect to NPAs is meant for public and it should be placed in public domain, in larger public interest thus facilitating expeditious recovery of the Bank's dues. Moreover by simply sharing information about the Bank's general policy of OTS/restructuring of loans, no right or power of the bank is likely to be adversely impacted, nor has the Respondent been able to justify the same. It is made clear that dissemination of information about the general policy of OTS/restructuring of loans has no bearing with any direction regarding grant of any benefit of OTS to the borrower. The grant of benefit under the OTS is always subject to the eligibility criteria mentioned under the OTS Scheme and the guidelines issued from time to time, as has also been held by the Apex Court in the matter of Bijnor Urban Co operative Bank Ltd. vs. Meenal Aggarwal. It is worthwhile to refer to the judgment dated 24.09.1951 of the Apex Court in the matter of Harla vs. State of Rajasthan wherein it was held as under:

"...Natural justice requires that before a law can become operative it must be promulgated or published. It must be broadcast in some recognisable way so that all men may know what it is; or, at the very least, there must be some special rule or regulation or customary channel by or through which such knowledge can be acquired with the exercise of due and reasonable diligence. The thought that a decision reached in the secret recesses of a chamber to which the public have no access and to which even their accredited representatives have no access and of which they can normally know nothing, can nevertheless affect their lives, liberty and property by the mere passing of a Resolution without anything more is abhorrent to civilised man. It shocks his conscience. In the absence therefore of any law, rule, regulation or custom, we hold that a law Page 7 of 8 cannot come into being in this way. Promulgation or publica- tion of some reasonable sort is essential...."

In the light of the legal position propounded by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, this Commission hereby directs the Respondent to furnish the restructuring/OTS policy to the Appellant, as per the provisions of the RTI Act, within two weeks of the receipt of this order. The disclosure of the OTS Policy is specific to the facts and circumstances of this case and may not be treated as a precedent. With the above observations and directions, this appeal is decided accordingly.

Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.

Sd/-

((Suresh Chandra) (सुसुरेशचं ा) ा सूचनाआयु ) Information Commissioner (सू दनांक/Date: 31.10.2023 Authenticated true copy R. Sitarama Murthy ( आर. सीताराम मूत ) Dy. Registrar (उप पंजीयक) 011-26181927(०११-२६१८१९२७) Addresses of the parties:

The CPIO UCO Bank, Zonal Office, SCO No 55-56-57 Bank Square, Sec-17B, Chandigarh- 160017 First Appellate Authority UCO Bank, Zonal Office, SCO No 55-56-57 Bank Square, Sec-17B, Chandigarh160017 Shri Parmod Kumar Page 8 of 8

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