The apex court and the Central Information Commission had earlier held that the RBI cannot refuse to put the inspection reports in the public domain under the transparency law.
Reserve Bank of India. (Photo: IANS)
Coming down heavily on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Supreme Court on Friday granted the apex bank the last chance to comply with its order to disclose annual inspection reports of banks under the Right to Information Act.
A bench comprising justices L Nageswara Rao and Justice MR Shah also warned the RBI of serious contempt of court proceedings if the court’s order is further violated.
The Supreme Court has also asked the RBI to withdraw its non-disclosure policy, which is in violation of top court’s judgement.
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The apex court was hearing a petition filed by Subhash Chandra Agrawal, who claimed the RBI and its former governor, Urjit Patel, had “willfully and deliberately” disobeyed the Court’s order asking it to disclose information under the RTI Act, according to a report in the Indian Express.
In January this year, the court had issued a contempt notice to the top bank.
The Supreme Court had in March taken a strong note of non-disclosure of the annual inspection report of banks by the apex bank under the RTI Act.
The bench was hearing as many as three petitions filed by parties, including RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal, alleging non-compliance of the law by the federal bank.
The apex court and the Central Information Commission had earlier held that the RBI cannot refuse to put the inspection reports in the public domain under the transparency law.
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