Outgoing information commissioner defends his notice to RBI

NEW DELHI: Outgoing information commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu, whose showcause notice to RBI governor Urjit Patel on wilful defaulters list disclosure had sparked a debate within the Central Information Commission (CIC), has justified his order and said the transparency watchdog should not “abet” concealment of names of loan defaulters.

On his last day in office on Tuesday, Acharyulu said in a letter to chief information commissioner RK Mathur, “We (CIC) do not have any legal duty to abet in any manner the concealment of names of wilful defaulters... The defaulters include those who did not pay back Rs 9.5 lakh crore of public money to Indian banks as on June 2017, those 9,000 account holders who wilfully did not pay back Rs 1.1 lakh crore of public money to Indian banks by 30th September, 2017… Not only the Constitution but also my conscience is the guiding factor and basis for my order in this case.”

ET had first reported on November 9 that other commissioners had raised questions on legal tenability of Acharyulu’s notice and propriety of conduct after his media appearances.


In his letter Acharyulu said: “If an appeal contains points pertaining to two different public authorities, it was never split into two and given to two different ICs… You have suggested that I breached unwritten protocol. A protocol is always written. What you suggested was unheard of.”

Acharyulu added: “Speaking to media to explain a legal position...is perfectly legal, proper and required. It is not a breach of any unwritten code. “The outgoing commissioner has raised certain pertinent points,” information commissioner Yashovardhan Azad told ET. “The commission should discuss ways to implement its own orders.”