Debendra Kumar Parida vs Punjab National Bank on 21 October, 2022

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Central Information Commission

Debendra Kumar Parida vs Punjab National Bank on 21 October, 2022

1. The issue under consideration arising out of the second appeal dated 16.09.2020 include non-receipt of the following information sought by the appellant through the RTI application dated 24.06.2020 and first appeal dated 10.08.2020:-

Detail statements of any type of accounts, fixed deposit of his father Dhirendra Kumar Parida since 1985 till 2014

(i) Details of any type of accounts & fixed deposit available in the name of his father.

2. Succinctly facts of the case are that the appellant filed an application dated 24.06.2020 under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Punjab National Bank, Bhubaneswar, seeking aforesaid Page 1 of 3 information. The CPIO vide letter dated 16.07.2020 replied to the appellant. Aggrieved by the same, the appellant filed first appeal dated 10.08.2020. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) vide order dated 01.09.2020 disposed of the first appeal. Aggrieved by that, the appellant filed second appeal dated 16.09.2020 before the Commission which is under consideration.

3. The appellant has filed the instant appeal dated 16.09.2020 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 16.07.2020 and the same is reproduced as under:-

"We would like to inform that all the legal heirs of Late Dhirendra Kumar Parida have not submitted the application; but you alone have submitted application seeking above information in the individual capacity. Accordingly information as sought by you cannot be provided, as the information submitted by the constituents is held by the bank in fiduciary capacity. Moreover information sought by you also relates to personal information, such disclosures may cause unwarranted invasion to the privacy of the individuals, as such, exempted under Section 8 (1) (e) & (j) of the RTI Act, 2005."

The FAA vide order dated 01.09.2020 upheld the reply of the CPIO.

5. The appellant and on behalf of the respondent Mr. Sanjukta Mohapatra, CPIO, Punjab National Bank, Bhubaneswar attended the hearing through video conference.

5.1. The appellant inter alia submitted that he was one of the sons of Late Shri Dhirendra Kumar Parida. However, the respondent had denied the information about his deceased father's account to him.

5.2. The respondent while defending their case inter alia submitted that the appellant had not submitted his legal heir certificate to the bank. In absence of the supporting Page 2 of 3 documents establishing his legal heirship, they had denied the information to the appellant under provisions of Section 8 (1) (e) & (j) of the RTI Act, 2005.

6. The Commission after adverting to the facts and circumstances of the case, hearing both the parties and perusal of records, observed that the reply given by the respondent was perfunctory. The appellant was one of the sons of Late Shri Dhirendra Kumar Parida. Therefore, he was entitled to the information. In the interest of justice, the respondent is directed that the information be made available to the appellant within three weeks from the date of receipt of this order. With these observations and directions, the appeal is disposed of.

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

Sd/-

                                                                             सुरेश चं ा)
                                                          (Suresh Chandra) (सु        ा
                                                                          सूचना आयु )
                                               Information Commissioner (सू
                                                                दनांक/Date: 18.10.2022
Authenticated true copy

R. Sitarama Murthy (आर. सीताराम मूत )
Dy. Registrar (उप पंजीयक)
011-26181927(०११-२६१८१९२७)


Addresses of the parties:
The CPIO
Punjab National Bank
Circle Office Cuttak
A - 32, Kharvel Nagar Unit - III
Opp. Sriya Talkies
Bhubaneswar - 751001

First Appellate Authority
Punjab National Bank
Circle Office Cuttak
A - 32, Kharvel Nagar Unit - III
Opp. Sriya Talkies
Bhubaneswar - 751001

Debendra Kumar Parida



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