IBBI Appellate Authority Dismisses RTI Appeal, Clarifies ‘Right to Information’ Limited to Records Held by Public Authority [Read Order]

The Insolvency andBankruptcy Board of India’s ( IBBI ) First Appellate Authority has dismissed an RTI appeal, stating that the Right to Information Act only entitles applicants to access records actually held by a public authority.

The appellant had sought wide-ranging Action Taken Reports (ATRs), explanations, and performance analyses on matters including the repeal of the Sick Industrial Companies Act, 1985, and transition to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, recoveries from insolvency proceedings and guarantors, claw-back transactions, oversight of auditors and regulators, and disclosures in IBBI’s annual reports and board meetings.

The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) denied most requests, stating that such ATRs and explanatory reports are not maintained by the Board, and pointed the appellant to information already available in IBBI’s newsletters, annual reports, and website disclosures.

The appellant Sundaresan contended that IBBI had a duty to provide detailed ATRs and explanations on its regulatory performance, including reasons for low recoveries, failures in claw-back actions, and omissions in annual reports. He argued that withholding such information undermined transparency and accountability.

The authority observed that under Section 2(f) and 2(j) of the RTI Act, “information” refers only to records held by a public authority. Requests for explanations, opinions, or justifications fall outside the scope of RTI.

Judicial precedents such as CBSE vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011) and Dr. Celsa Pinto vs. Goa State Information Commission (2008) were cited to reinforce that RTI cannot compel authorities to answer “why” or create new information.

The first appellate authority, Kulwant Singh, noted that relevant insolvency data and board meeting disclosures are already published in the public domain, and applicants must rely on those sources.

Accordingly, the appeal was disposed of without relief.

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