Banking & Insurance RTI — PSU bank / LIC records (2026)

PSU banks (SBI, PNB, etc.) and LIC are public authorities under §2(h). After RBI v. Jayantilal Mistry (SC, 2015), the §8(1)(e) fiduciary defence is confined to the strict-classical sense and does not protect inspection reports, defaulter lists, or customer's own records. Insurance regulator IRDAI is also a public authority.

• RTI Act, 2005 §6, §7(1), §8(1)(d) (commercial confidence — narrow), §8(1)(e) (fiduciary).
• RBI v. Jayantilal Mistry (SC, 2015) — fiduciary defence is strict-classical; inspection reports + defaulter lists disclosable.
• Banking Regulation Act, 1949 §35 (RBI inspection).
• IRDAI Act, 1999 + Insurance Act, 1938.

To:
The Public Information Officer (PIO),
[Office name + address].

Subject: RTI under §6 — Banking & Insurance query

Sir/Madam,

Under the RTI Act, 2005, kindly provide:

1. Status of my loan / claim / refund application No. [NUMBER] dated [DATE].
2. Reason for delay beyond Citizen Charter timeline.
3. Daily file movement (file noting) of my application.
4. List of documents pending and from whom.
5. Branch Head + Zonal Office contact for grievance escalation.
6. Citizen Charter compliance status and action on prior complaint No. [NUMBER].

Rs. 10 IPO enclosed.

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
[Address + phone + email]
[Date]

• Day 31 — First Appeal.
• Day 76 — Second Appeal to CIC.
• Parallel — Banking Ombudsman (RBI) for bank grievances.
• Parallel — Insurance Ombudsman / IRDAI for insurance grievances.

• RBI v. Jayantilal Mistry (SC, 2015) — Fiduciary defence narrowed; bank records on customer disclosable to customer.
• Bhagat Singh v. CIC (Delhi HC, 2007) — Speaking-reasons doctrine — refusal must be reasoned.

• Asking for other customers' data — §8(1)(j) blocks.
• Filing to wrong branch (must be the branch holding your account).
• Confusing Banking Ombudsman with RTI — both are parallel routes.

No — only PSU banks. Private banks are subject to RBI Banking Ombudsman, not RTI.

Yes — bank must disclose reason for rejection of loan application.

• Hospital negligence RTI
• Banking RTI — PIO playbook
• File RTI online — 12 steps
• RTI — 25 questions answered

• RTI Act, 2005 — full text.
• Citation chain in body.
• Citizen Charter of the relevant authority.
• Case-law database at /cases/search.

Last reviewed: 23 April 2026.