Information related to service matters and third party loan
22 Mar, 2012Background
The appellant sought information relating to the disciplinary proceeding initiated against him by the bank in the past and other service matters. He also sought for the extensive details about the loan account of third party customers of the bank as well as the basis for the observation made by the disciplinary authority in the punishment order to two sets of accounts. The Public Information Officer (PIO) and the First Appellate Authority (FAA) supplied most of the information while denying the details of the loan account of third party customers of the bank under section 8 (1) (d), (e) and (j) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Regarding information related to the basis for the observation made by the disciplinary authority in the punishment order to two sets of accounts, the PIO observed that this was not information within the meaning of Section 2(f) “information” means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force; of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
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The Central Information Commission observed that the information related to the loan account details of third party customers of the bank cannot be disclosed as they are of commercial confidence in nature, unless there is a larger public interest involved. Regarding the basis for referring to 2 sets of accounts in the punishment order, the PIO was directed to confirm if there are any references about 2 sets of accounts in the files dealing with the disciplinary proceedings and intimate the appellant accordingly.
Citation: Shri Ashok Saxena v Union Bank of India in File No. CIC/SM/A/2011/000447, 1003 & 2418
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/173
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