Authority: Appellate Authority under the RTI Act, Securities and Exchange Board of India

Order Date: August 07, 2026

Case Overview

The appellant, Sudha Devi, holder of PACL Certificate No. U06352xxx, filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 on July 11, 2026. Her application sought detailed information regarding a purported land allotment against her certificate, which was the basis for the rejection of her refund claim. She specifically requested certified copies of records from PACL Ltd. showing the allotment, details of the plot (number, survey number, village, tehsil, district, state), date of allotment, copies of the allotment letter, possession letter, any correspondence bearing her signature, and the rules/guidelines under which her refund was rejected.

The CPIO, SEBI, Mumbai, responded on July 15, 2026, stating that the information sought was not available with SEBI. The respondent advised the appellant to approach the Justice (Retd.) R.M Lodha Committee, which handles all communication regarding refund status, and provided information on accessing relevant public documents on the SEBI website.

The appellant filed a first appeal (Reg. No. SEBIH/A/E/26/00255) on July 15, 2026, on the grounds that she was provided incomplete, misleading, or false information.

The Appellate Authority, in its reasoning, cited a precedent from the Hon'ble Central Information Commission (CIC) in the matter of Sh. Pattipati Rama Murthy vs. CPIO, SEBI (Decision dated July 8, 2013), which held that if information is not in the possession of SEBI, the CPIO cannot invent it. The authority found no deficiency in the CPIO's response. It further noted that the responsibility for the disposal of PACL's properties and repayment to investors is entrusted to the Justice Lodha Committee, constituted pursuant to a February 2, 2016 order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.

Final Outcome

The appeal was dismissed. The Appellate Authority found no reason to interfere with the decision of the CPIO. The final ruling upholds the CPIO's response and directs the appellant to seek the information from the Justice Lodha Committee.

Topics: RTI Appeal, PACL Refunds, Investor Grievance