SBI refuses to disclose electoral bonds data under RTI act despite public availability

PTC News Desk: The State Bank of India (SBI) refused to disclose the details of the electoral bonds under the RTI Act and said that the information is personal and held in a fiduciary capacity, despite the fact that the records are publicly available on the Election Commission's (EC) website.

Earlier, in February, the Supreme Court directed the SBI to provide the Election Commission with detailed details of bonds purchased since April 12, 2019, ruling that the electoral bonds scheme was "unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary."

On March 11, the court denied the SBI's motion for an extension of the deadline and directed it to reveal the information on the electoral bonds to the Election Commission by the end of business hours on March 12.

RTI activist Commodore (retired) Lokesh Batra approached the SBI on March 13 to obtain the whole data of the electoral bonds in digital form, which was submitted to the EC following the Supreme Court's direction.

The bank refused the information, citing two exemption clauses under the Right to Information (RTI) Act: section 8(1)(e), which applies to data held in a fiduciary, and section 8(1)(j), which enables withholding personal information.

"Information sought by you is containing details of purchasers and political parties and hence, cannot be disclosed as it is held in fiduciary capacity disclosure of which is exempted under sections 8(1)(e) and (j) of the RTI Act," the central public information officer and deputy general manager of the SBI said in the response to RTI.