(1)All particulars contained in any return or declaration made or accounts, registers or other documents produced in accordance with this Act shall, save as otherwise provided in sub-section (3), be treated as confidential, and notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872) no court shall be entitled to require the Administrator or any person authorised by the Administrator under this Act or any officer or other employee of Government to produce before it any such return, declaration, accounts, registers or other documents or any part thereof or to give evidence before it in respect thereof.(2)The Administrator or any person exercising any powers or performing any functions under this Act shall not divulge-(i)any information contained in any return or declaration made to, or any account, register or other document produced before, or inspected by him, or(ii)any other fact or information which comes to his knowledge by virtue of his office or in the course of his duty.(3)The Administrator or any gazetted officer authorised by him in this behalf may request any officer of Government or the Reserve Bank of India to furnish any information relating to any particulars contained in any return or declaration made to, or any accounts, registers or other documents produced before or inspected by such officer under the provisions of any law if, in the opinion of the Administrator or the gazetted officer aforesaid, such information is necessary for the implementation of any provisions of this Act; and when such request is made, the officer of Government or Reserve Bank of India, as the case may be, shall comply with such request notwithstanding the provisions of any such law forbidding the furnishing of such information.(4)Nothing in this section shall apply to, and in relation to the disclosure of any information referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)-(a)for the purposes of any prosecution for any offence against this Act, or(b)to any officer of Government where it is necessary to make such disclosure to such officer for the purposes of this Act or of any other law.
