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

Order Date: July 22, 2026

Case Overview

The appellant, Anand Mishra, filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005, on April 21, 2026, seeking detailed statistical information about SEBI's investigations over the previous 10 years. The CPIO, SEBI, responded to the application on May 19, 2026. The appellant then filed a first appeal, registered as SEBIH/A/E/26/00235, which was received on June 26, 2026.

The Appellate Authority noted that the appeal was filed beyond the statutory 30-day limit prescribed under Section 19(1) of the RTI Act from the date of receiving the CPIO's response. The appellant did not request condonation of this delay nor provide any explanation for it. Consequently, the appeal was deemed time-barred.

Notwithstanding the procedural lapse, the Authority examined the appeal on its merits. The appellant's seven queries requested specific data, including: the total number of SEBI investigations conducted; the number and details of cases settled through the settlement mechanism; the number of settlement offers rejected; the number of investigations resulting in punishment; data on repeat offenders using the settlement mechanism; the names of entities/persons who settled and the frequency; and the quantum of settlement as a percentage of alleged gains.

The CPIO's response stated that information for queries 1 and 4 (total investigations and punishments) was not provided in the specific form requested, as SEBI conducts investigations confidentially. The CPIO directed the appellant to SEBI's annual reports, available on its website, for the number of investigations completed yearly. For queries 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7, the CPIO stated the information was not maintained in the desired manner and collating it would disproportionately divert SEBI's resources, making it exempt under Section 7(9) of the RTI Act. The CPIO also noted that data on settled applications and total settlement amounts are available in the annual reports, and all settlement orders are publicly available on SEBI's website.

The Appellate Authority concurred with the CPIO's reasoning. It upheld the refusal to confirm or deny specific investigations to maintain market integrity and prevent speculation, citing previous orders from the Central Information Commission (CIC) in cases like Arun Damodar Sawant vs CPIO, SEBI and Anju Sharma vs. CPIO, SEBI. For the other queries, the Authority agreed that compiling the data would disproportionately divert resources, referencing the CIC's order in Mr. Deepak Girdhar vs. CPIO, SEBI.

Final Outcome

The appeal was dismissed. The Appellate Authority found no reason to interfere with the CPIO's decision and upheld the refusal to provide the information as requested. The appellant was directed to the aggregated data available in SEBI's publicly accessible annual reports.

Topics: RTI Appeal, SEBI Investigations, Data Disclosure