Public sector banks should disclose details of cases pertaining to
persons and establishments whose bad debts of over Rs 100 crore have been
written off, the Delhi High Court has held.
This disclosure involves an element of public interest and taxpayers
have a right to know the manner in which state- run banks sanctioned them,
Justice Rajiv Shakdher said. Prima facie, in my view, this information may have
to be disclosed," he said.
The court's order came on a plea filed by State Bank of India (SBI)
against a January 20 order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) asking
the bank to supply to RTI applicant Raju Vazhakkala information regarding total
non-performing assets (NPAs) written off between 2004 and 2013.
The bank contended that it has a fiduciary
relationship with the account holders and the information should be exempted
from disclosure under Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act. It also submitted that
Section 44 of the SBI Act 1955 also prohibits disclosure of customer's
information to any third party.
The judge brushed aside SBI's contention and
observed, "I have come to this prima facie conclusion is this: the
petitioner (SBI) is undoubtedly a nationalised bank, which on its own is
showing written off as NPAs, its loan accounts having outstanding of Rs 100
crore or more."
The bank contended that it has a fiduciary
relationship with the account holders and the information should be exempted
from disclosure under Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act. It also submitted that
Section 44 of the SBI Act 1955 also prohibits disclosure of customer's
information to any third party.
The judge brushed aside SBI's contention and
observed, "I have come to this prima facie conclusion is this: the
petitioner (SBI) is undoubtedly a nationalised bank, which on its own is
showing written off as NPAs, its loan accounts having outstanding of Rs 100
crore or more."
"The sheer extent of the write-off would,
in my view, perhaps, inject an element of public interest in the matter, which
is the exception provided for in Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act, 2005,"
the court added.
It also said this "matter needs further
examination" and issued notice to Mr Vazhakkala, a Kochi resident. The
court also asked the RTI applicant to file counter affidavit within four weeks.
"Rejoinder, if any, be filed before the next date of hearing. List on
September 2, 2015," the court said.
Mr Vazhakkala in his plea before CIC had
contended that he has sought information in public interest and the disclosure
of the names of individuals and establishments would deter them from availing
the loan from the other banks due to their past defaults. The commission had
directed the SBI to provide the names, address of the individuals and
establishments and amounts against them which were written off.
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