Central Information Commission
Lekh Ram vs State Bank Of India on 17 March, 2023
Author: Neeraj Kumar Gupta
Bench: Neeraj Kumar Gupta
के ीय सूचना आयोग
Central Information Commission
बाबा गंगनाथ माग ,मुिनरका
Baba Gangnath Marg, Munirka
नई द ली, New Delhi - 110067
ि तीय अपील सं या/Second Appeal No. CIC/SBIND/A/2021/127922
Mr. Lekh Ram ... अपीलकता /Appellant
VERSUS
बनाम
The CPIO ... ितवादी/Respondent
State Bank of India,
Regional Business Office- FIMM,
Dabwali Road, Distt- Sirsa,
Haryana- 125055
Relevant dates emerging from the appeal:-
RTI : 19-01-2021 FA : 10-03-2021 SA : 14-07-2021
CPIO : 20-02-2021 FAO : 22-04-2021 Hearing : 06-03-2023
ORDER
1. The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) State Bank of India, Haryana. The appellant is seeking information as under :-
etc. Page 1 of 3
2. The CPIO provided information on point no. 1, 7, 10 and 11 of the RTI application and denied the information on remaining points under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act. Being dissatisfied with the same, the appellant had filed first appeal dated 10-03-2021 and requested that the information should be provided to him .The First Appellate Authority disposed of the appeal vide order dated 22.04.2021. He has filed a second appeal before the Commission on the ground that information sought has not been provided to him and requested to direct the respondent to provide complete and correct information.
Hearing:
3. The appellant attended the hearing through video conferencing. The respondent, Shri Anil Goel, AG participated in the hearing through video conferencing.
4. Written submission of the respondent has been taken on record.
5. The appellant submitted that the desired information has not been provided to him by the respondent on his RTI application dated 19.01.2021.
6. The respondent submitted that vide their letter dated 20.02.2021, they have informed the appellant that the information sought by him relates to bank's internal matter and trade secrets hence, it is exempted from disclosure under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act.
Decision:
7. The Commission, after hearing the submissions of both the parties and after perusal of records, observes that the appellant has sought information regarding complaint filed by him due to irregularity of his KCC loan. The appellant is aggrieved due to incomplete information provided to him by the respondent on his RTI application. The Commission observes that the respondent has provided information sought in point nos. 1, 7, 10 and 11 of the RTI application.
Information sought in point nos. 2, 8 and 9 of the RTI application cannot be provided to the appellant, as the information sought in these points relate to personal information of third party which is exempted from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. Similarly the information sought in point nos. 4, 5 and 6 of the RTI application relate to bank's internal matters and trade secrets hence, cannot be furnished to the appellant. The Commission observes that reply given by the respondent in response to point no. 1 and 3 of the RTI application is not correct, as the CPIO has not provided complete information to the appellant w.r.t. the date of receipt of complaint dated 22.08.2020 and day to day action taken on the said complaint. Merely taking the plea by the respondent that information sought in abovementioned points is exempted from disclosure under Page 2 of 3 Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act is not a valid reason as per the provisions of the RTI Act. Denying the information by just quoting Section 8(1)(d) without giving justification for arriving at the reason for denial is against the letter and spirit of the RTI Act. In view of the above, the Commission directs the respondent to inform to the appellant the status of his application/complaint (as mentioned in the RTI application) as on date of RTI application and present status. If the said application has already been disposed of, the broad outcome, without divulging the details of the investigation/inquiry, should be provided to the appellant, within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of this order. In addition to this, copy of written submission of the respondent dated 06.01.2023 should be shared with the appellant within 15 days from the date of receipt of this order.
8. With the above observations, the appeal is disposed of.
9. Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
नीरज कु मार गु ा)
Neeraj Kumar Gupta (नीरज ा
सूचना आयु )
Information Commissioner (सू
दनांक / Date : 16-03-2023
Authenticated true copy
(अिभ मािणत स यािपत ित)
S. C. Sharma (एस. सी. शमा ),
Dy. Registrar (उप-पंजीयक),
(011-26105682)
Addresses of the parties:
1. The CPIO
State Bank of India,
Regional Business Office- FIMM,
Dabwali Road, Distt- Sirsa,
Haryana- 125055
2. Mr. Lekh Ram
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