Central bank takes CIC to court over foreign donor list

THE RBI IS SEEKING A STAY ON THE ORDER PASSED BY THE CIC ON JUNE 28, 2018.

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approached the Bombay high court against a Central Information Commission (CIC) order for the central bank to provide details of foreign donors placed by the ministry of home affairs on the Foreign Contribution ( Regulation) Act (FCRA) watchlist.

The RBI is seeking a stay on the order passed by the CIC on June 28, 2018.

In its petition, the RBI said that the CIC has issued a show cause notice and directed it to disclose the information to a Right to Information (RTI) application that had been rejected by the central bank earlier.

The central bank said that it cannot disclose the information because it receives it from the ministry of home affairs as a confidential document.

“Respondent No 3 (Ministry of Home Affairs) has always considered information pertaining to the Prior Reference Category (PRC) to be sensitive and confidential, and asked RBI not to disclose the same or any part thereof,” it added.

According to FCRA guidelines, renewal of registration for receiving foreign funds cannot be granted unless the organiza- tion uploads its annual returns on the FCRA website.

More than 20,000 NGOS are registered under FCRA.

The genesis of the dispute lies in an application filed by an RTI activist, Ajay Gupta, seeking information of these donations and lists from the RBI. Gupta is respondent no 2 in the case.

However, the central bank had refused to give any such information, prompting Gupta to approach the CIC, appealing against the RBI. The CIC then issued a show cause notice to the central bank, asking it to disclose the details.

The RTI had sought an updated list of all foreign sources including donors and donor agencies that have been identified by the ministry of home affairs and placed on its watchlist with the effect that any payment or foreign contribution by the donor and donor agency shall not be credited by the receiving banks into the accounts of beneficiaries/recipients except with the prior permission of the ministry of home affairs.