CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
Club Building (Near Post Office)
Old JNU Campus, New Delhi - 110067
Tel: +91-11-26161796
Decision No. CIC/SM/A/2010/001496/SG/14813
Appeal No. CIC/SM/A/2010/001496/SG
Relevant Facts
emerging from the Appeal
Appellant : Mr. Yashwant Singh
110, Mall Road
Lucknow
Respondent (1) : Public Information Officer
Allahabad Bank
Head Office: 2, Netaji Subhash Road,
Kolkata-700001
(2) : PIO
Allahabad Bank
New Building, Ist Floor,
Hazratganj, Lucknow-226001
\RTI application filed on : 03/08/2010
PIO replied : 12/08/2010
First appeal filed on : 26/08/2010
First Appellate Authority order : No order
Second Appeal received on : 27/10/2010
Information Sought:
The Appellant has sought information regarding loan given by Allahabad Bank, Kesar Bagh Branch to property no.
2/159, Vibhav Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow.
1) Please provide the name of the person, address, date of taking loan, amount of loan sanctioned, deposited
installment and detail of the pending amount against which the loan was taken through mortgage of this
property.
2) Please provide copies and all information of all the documents deposited with the bank and also provide
information regarding the lost documents which are replaced by depositing of the Affidavit.
3) Please provide the date of auction of this property, amount, names and address of the people involved in
the auction of this property along with the detail of the draft deposited like the draft amount, draft number
and name and branch address of the issuing bank.
4) Is the property sealed by the bank? If yes then please provide the date and time when the property was
sealed. Was the connection for water and electricity withdrawn? If no then please explain why? Please also
provide the electricity and water connection number. In the condition of sealing, how is the payment of
electricity bill, water bill and house tax being dealt? If not paid, then how much amount is pending for the
same?
5) Except for the Kesar Bagh Branch, is there any other branch which has mortgaged this property and given
loan against this? If yes then name and address of the person who has been given the loan along with the
loan a/c no. and amount of the loan and detail of the amount deposited.
6) Is there any arrangement for separate auction as per the loan given by the two branches being held over this
property?
7) Please provide the certified copies of the following documents:
a) Photocopy of the applications sent along with the draft of the people participating in the auction.
b) Certified copy of the investigation of auction done and mentioned in the Investigation Register at
the time of auction.
c) Copy of the tender given in the newspaper for the auction.
d) Certified copy of the affidavit during the time of depositing the original documents of the property
for taking the loan.
Reply of the Public Information Officer (PIO):
No information can be provided in this regard as the information sought by you comes under Section 8 (1)
(d) & (j) of the RTI Act and prohibits the bank from disclosing the information and hence your request is
disposed off.
Grounds for the First Appeal:
Unsatisfactory and incomplete information provided by the PIO.
Order of the First Appellate Authority (FAA):
Not ordered
Relevant Facts Emerging during Hearing:
The following were present:
Appellant: Mr. Yashwant Singh on video conference from NIC-Lucknow Studio;
Respondent: Absent;
The Appellant had sought information about a transaction with the Bank and the Bank has refused to give
the information claiming it is exempted under Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act. Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act
exempts information which is held in a fiduciary capacity by the public authority.
Section 8 (1) (e) of the RTI Act exempts from disclosure ‘information available to a person in his fiduciary
relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such
information;’
The traditional definition of a fiduciary is a person who occupies a position of trust in relation to someone else,
therefore requiring him to act for the latter’s benefit within the scope of that relationship. In business or law, we
generally mean someone who has specific duties, such as those that attend a particular profession or role, e.g.
doctor, lawyer, financial analyst or trustee. Another important characteristic of such a relationship is that the
information must be given by the holder of information who must have a choice,- as when a litigant goes to a
particular lawyer, a customer chooses a particular bank, or a patient goes to particular doctor. An equally important
characteristic for the relationship to qualify as a fiduciary relationship is that the provider of information gives the
information for using it for the benefit of the one who is providing the information. All relationships usually have
an element of trust, but all of them cannot be classified as fiduciary. Information provided in discharge of a
statutory requirement, or to obtain a job, or to get a license, cannot be considered to have been given in a fiduciary
relationship.
In the instant case very clearly a fiduciary relationship exists, since customers of a Bank come to it because of the
implicit trust they have; and they provide information to the Bank for their own benefit. Customers also have a
choice of which bank they wish to approach. Hence unless a large public interest is shown the information is
exempted from disclosure. In the instant case no larger public interest has been demonstrated.
Decision:
The appeal is disposed.
The information sought by the Appellant is exempted under Section 8(1)(e) of the
RTI Act.
This decision is announced in open chamber.
Notice of this decision be given free of cost to the parties.
Any information in compliance with this Order will be provided free of cost as per Section 7(6) of RTI Act.
Shailesh Gandhi
Information Commissioner
23 September 2011
(In any correspondence on this decision mention the complete decision number) (NB)