Livemint: New Delhi: Wednesday,
June 15, 2016.
Disclosure of
the details of assets and liabilities of Securities and Exchange Board of India
(Sebi) chief U.K. Sinha can cause “unwarranted invasion of privacy,” the
Central Information Commission (CIC) has said.
Conducting
the hearing of the four-year old case, a full-bench of CIC has overturned its
earlier order which had directed that the disclosure be done in larger public
interest.
“The
commission is of the considered opinion that the appellant in the instant case
has not made a bona fide public interest in seeking information, the disclosure
of such information is likely to cause unwarranted invasion of privacy of the
individual under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI (Right to Information) Act. It
being so, we are not inclined to allow disclosure of the requested information.
The matter is dismissed on the said grounds,” reads the verdict by three information
commissioners Basant Seth, Manjula Prasher and M.A. Khan Yusufi.
Bengaluru-based
Arun Kumar Agrawal had in January 2012 filed an RTI application with Sebi
seeking details of the assets and liabilities of its chairman for the last
three years along with his emoluments and perquisites. The information was
declined in February that year by Sebi, saying it was held by it in fiduciary
capacity. Agrawal then filed first appeal under the transparency law, which was
dismissed as the authorities “did not find any merit” in it. Following this,
the case was heard by the commission’s full bench in August 2014 which then
allowed “disclosure of the requested information” to the applicant within four
weeks time.
Sinha first
became the Sebi Chairman on 18 February 2011 with a three-year tenure, which
was later extended by two years. Just days before the end of his tenure in
February this year, he was given another extension till 1 March 2017.
.JPG)
.JPG)
