CIC again takes PMO, RBI to task

Admonishing the RBI and the PMO in no uncertain terms, the Central Information Commission has again directed them to disclose the list of wilful defaulters and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's letter on bad loans in this regard.

In an exhaustive 66-page order, the panel has pulled up the Prime Minister's Office for not complying with its directive to disclose the letter.

Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said, "If there is any objection based on any exception, the PMO should have pleaded such provision and justified their denial."

He said the PMO refused to comply with the direction to make the disclosure on "grounds which are not legal".

Acharyulu was hearing the plea of one Sandeep Singh who had sought details of bank loan defaulters.

The commission had earlier issued a show cause notice to RBI Governor Urijit Patel for "dishonouring" a Supreme Court judgment and CIC directive on disclosure of the list of wilful defaulters.

The PMO has a "moral, constitutional and political duty" to tell the citizens as to who the defaulters were and what action has been taken to recover the huge loans advanced to them by banks, from out of taxpayer's money, he said.

The commissioner said several categories of information were declared by the RBI as not disclosable as part of their ‘disclosure policy.'

This is against the RTI Act, the collective will of Parliament, an affront to democracy, and smacks of disrespect to the Supreme Court's directions in RBI v Jayantilal N Mistry case, he said. ‘‘The RBI has a strong legal team with experienced legal experts and meritorious graduates from National Law Schools, yet it has the audacity to openly defy the RTI Act, CIC directions and judgment of the Supreme Court," he added.

Acharyulu said in spite of the Supreme Court's direction that Section 22 of the RTI Act will override the RBI Act and other Acts, the RBI again cited those Acts and declared that it would not give information.