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

Order Date: August 13, 2026

Case Overview

The appeal was filed by Sandeep Kumar against the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of SEBI, Mumbai regarding an RTI application dated July 04, 2026. The appellant had sought three specific pieces of information: 1) details of regulations regarding maintenance charges by a Depository Participant (DP) client towards a demat account in all conditions, 2) details of regulations regarding occasions of communication between DP client and demat account holder, and 3) copy of approved procedure to close a demat account.

The respondent (CPIO, SEBI) responded on July 15, 2026, directing the appellant to refer to the SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulation, 2018 and the SEBI Master Circular for Depositories dated December 03, 2024, both available in the public domain on SEBI's website. The respondent also indicated that the appellant could refer to circulars and operational guidelines issued by Depositories.

The appellant filed an appeal on July 16, 2026 (Registration No. SEBIH/A/E/26/00260) on the grounds that he was provided incomplete, misleading or false information.

The Appellate Authority examined the application, response, and appeal, noting that the requested information regarding demat account charges, communication protocols, and closure procedures is publicly available in the specified regulations and circulars. The authority cited legal precedent from the Delhi High Court in Registrar of Companies & ors. Vs. Dharmendra Kumar Garg & anr. and the Central Information Commission in Shri K Lall vs. Shri M K Bagri (CIC/AT/A/2007/00112, order dated April 12, 2007), which established that information available in the public domain cannot be considered information "held" by the public authority, and thus there is no obligation to provide it under the RTI Act.

Final Outcome

The Appellate Authority found no deficiency in the CPIO's response and dismissed the appeal, upholding the decision that the appellant should access the requested information through publicly available SEBI regulations and depository circulars.

Topics: RTI Appeal, Demat Account Regulations, SEBI Compliance