SC Orders The Reserve Bank Of India Not To Disclose Bank Inspection Reports Under RTI Act Until Further Orders
[ By Bobby Anthony ]The Supreme Court has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) not to publicize any inspection reports, risk assessment reports or financial inspection reports of banks under the Right to Information (RTI) Act until further orders.“Inspection reports, risk assessment reports, annual financial inspection reports of the banks including State Bank of India shall not be released...
The Supreme Court has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) not to publicize any inspection reports, risk assessment reports or financial inspection reports of banks under the Right to Information (RTI) Act until further orders.
“Inspection reports, risk assessment reports, annual financial inspection reports of the banks including State Bank of India shall not be released by the Reserve Bank of India until further orders,” a bench comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna said recently.
The ruling came in response to on an application filed by banks, which stated that any such information cannot be shared without first giving the banks an opportunity to oppose it.
In 2015, the Supreme Court had mandated the RBI to release such information to RTI applicants or risk contempt of court, after which RTI applications piled up at the RBI.
The banks then moved the Supreme Court seeking relief. These banks included HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI, which were affected by the alleged leak of an inspection report.
The interim order will continue till the court examines the issues involved in the case. SBI was represented by lawyer Sanjay Kapur and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The RBI was represented by its senior advocate, Jaideep Gupta.