Case Details

This is an order from the Appellate Authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005, at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The appeal number is 6862 of 2026. The appellant is Yash, and the respondent is the CPIO, SEBI, Mumbai. The order was issued on May 27, 2026, by Ruchi Chojer, the Appellate Authority. The appeal pertains to an RTI application dated April 09, 2026, and the respondent's reply dated April 28, 2026. The appeal was registered under No. SEBIH/A/E/26/00161. There is no direct financial impact, penalty, or settlement amount involved in this case, as it is an appeal against the denial of information.

Persons Involved

  • Appellant: Yash
  • Respondent: CPIO, SEBI, Mumbai
  • Appellate Authority: Ruchi Chojer, Appellate Authority under the RTI Act, Securities and Exchange Board of India

Violations and Allegations

This is not a case alleging violations by a regulated entity. It is an appeal against SEBI's denial of an RTI request. The appellant's ground for appeal was that he was provided "incomplete, misleading or false information" by the CPIO in response to his application.

The original RTI application sought information on four main points:

1. Copies of all SEBI rules, regulations, circulars, or guidelines regarding the handling of service bond obligations for employees joining from other government departments.

2. Year-wise data for the last 5 years on the number of employees who joined SEBI from government departments with an existing service bond and the number of cases where SEBI accepted the bond's continuation.

3. Copies of any records, including file notings, indicating SEBI's policy on accepting fresh bonds from such employees for the balance period, with reference to DoPT O.M. No. DOPT-1670563492572 dated 09.12.2022.

4. Detailed, grade-wise staffing details including sanctioned strength, number of employees working, and number of vacant posts for all grades and specifically for the IT department.

Penalties, Settlement Terms & Rulings

The Appellate Authority ruled on each query of the original RTI application:

  • Query Nos. 1 and 3: The Authority concurred with the CPIO's response. It was held that the information pertaining to internal functioning, systems, and procedures is exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act. The order cited the Hon'ble Supreme Court judgment in ICAI v. Shaunak H. Satya, [(2011) 8 SCC 781] to support this decision, emphasizing the balance between transparency and efficient operation.
  • Query No. 2: The Authority upheld the CPIO's exemption under Section 7(9) of the RTI Act. It was determined that the information was not readily available and would require collating data from separate individual files located in multiple places. This process was deemed to disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority. The order referenced a precedent from the Central Information Commission (CIC) in Mr. Deepak Girdhar vs. CPIO, SEBI (Order dated March 30, 2021).
  • Query Nos. 4(a) and 4(b): The Authority found that the CPIO had adequately addressed these queries. The information provided was deemed sufficient.

Final Ruling and Enforcement

The final ruling of the Appellate Authority was to dismiss the appeal in its entirety. There was no need to interfere with the decision of the respondent CPIO. The order is final and concludes the appellate process for this specific RTI application under the RTI Act framework at SEBI. No further action or obligation was mandated for either party as a result of this order.