Authority: Appellate Authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005, Securities and Exchange Board of India

Order Date: November 02, 2026

Case Overview

The appellant, Suriyanarayanan Ramachandran, filed an RTI application dated September 06, 2026 (received through RTI MIS portal) seeking specific transaction details from Bombay Stock Exchange. The application requested order status and order quantity information for specific reference numbers pertaining to four companies: NIVAKA FASHIONS LIMITED (Reference no: 1728271800001278102, dated 07-Oct-2024), NANDAN DENIMS (Reference nos: 1729567800000081350 to 1729567800000081359, dated 22-Oct-2024), RAJNISH RETAIL LIMITED (Reference no: 1732678200001067393, dated 27-Nov-2024), and NECTAR LIFE (Reference no: 1729567800000058078, dated 22-Oct-2024).

The CPIO, SEBI, Mumbai responded on October 05, 2026, stating that the requested information was not available with SEBI. The appellant filed an appeal (Reg. No. SEBIH/A/E/26/00378) on the same date, October 05, 2026, on the grounds that he was provided incomplete, misleading or false information.

The Appellate Authority examined the application, response, and appeal, noting that SEBI can only provide information that is available in its records. The authority cited two legal precedents: the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Central Board of Secondary Education & Anr. vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay & Ors (Judgment dated August 9, 2011) which held that the RTI Act provides access to all information that is available and existing, but does not obligate public authorities to collect or collate non-available information; and the Hon'ble Central Information Commission in Sh. Pattipati Rama Murthy vs. CPIO, SEBI (Decision dated July 8, 2013) which held that if SEBI does not have information in its possession, the CPIO cannot invent it for the appellant.

Final Outcome

The Appellate Authority found no deficiency in SEBI's response and dismissed the appeal, concluding that there was no need to interfere with the decision of the respondent CPIO.

Topics: RTI Compliance, SEBI Appellate Process, Market Transaction Data