CIC can't review its orders: Information Commissioner

Asking the Reserve Bank of India to make public its inspection report on a Uttar Pradesh-based cooperative bank, Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has questioned a Central Information Commission's full bench ruling, which had left it to the central bank to take a call making public its inspection reports of other banks.

Gandhi asked the RBI to divulge its inspection report of United Mercantile Cooperative Bank in public interest, while asserting that the CIC's full-bench order, which reviewed and set aside an order by former Information Commissioner M M Ansari for disclosures of banks' inspection reports, was "wrong" and "not binding."

In his order, Gandhi also said the full bench did not have powers to review the CIC's previous decision.
"The powers of the Commission are limited under the RTI Act and there are no provisions conferring the right to review...therefore the R R Patel case is per incuriam and is consequently not binding on this Bench, since M M Ansari's decision was overturned wrongly," said Gandhi.

Gandhi gave his order on a plea by Kanpur's transparency activist Ashwini Dixit, challenging the RBI's decision against divulging its inspection reports of the cooperative bank on the ground that the same would adversely affect the country's banking system.

During hearing of Dixit's appeal by Gandhi, the RBI reiterated its stand and also cited the CIC's full-bench order, which had left it to the central bank to take a call on the issue of its inspection reports of various banks.

Earlier, while adjudicating the issue of making public the RBI's inspection reports of various banks, erstwhile Information Commissioner Ansari had favoured their disclosure in public interest.

The CIC's full bench comprising Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and information commissioners Ansari, Padma Balasubramanian and A N Tiwari, however, had later set aside Ansari's order and had left it to the RBI to take a call on issue of disclosure of banks' inspection report.

While asking the RBI to make public its inspection report of the UP cooperative bank, Gandhi also said as the CIC full bench had recorded no reason for its order authorising the RBI to take a call on the issue of making public banks inspection reports, it does not establish any legal principle.

Gandhi also added the Commission cannot rely solely on the decision of the public authority and must look into the merits of the case itself.

"It must determine, on its own, whether the denial of information by the PIO was justified as per Sections 8 and 9 of the RTI Act. Since the Full Bench has not recorded any comment which shows that it consciously agreed that Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act was applicable in such matters, it does not establish any legal principle or interpretation which can be considered as a precedent or ratio," he said.

He added that the CIC's full bench decision is applicable only to the particular matter before it and does not become a binding precedent.

"Once the full bench had recorded its finding of a public interest in disclosure, it should have given reasons why it did not order disclosure as per the provisions of Section 8(2) of the RTI Act. It appears to have overlooked the provisions of Section 8(2) of the RTI Act," Gandhi said.

During the hearing, the RBI also contended that the CIC's previous orders on disclosure of inspection reports are under stay by various courts.

But, Gandhi rejected the RBI's contention and said, "None of the stay orders enumerates the reasons on the basis of which the Commission's orders were stayed. Since no reasons have been advanced for the grant of stay, it is not possible for the Commission to ascertain the same."

"Moreover, the Respondent (RBI) has also not produced any evidence to show that the high courts have granted a stay on the specific issue of disclosure of inspection reports under the RTI Act," he said.