Banking, Financial, and Tax RTIs — A PIO Playbook

• §8(1)(e) — fiduciary exemption, narrowed by Jayantilal Mistry.
• §8(1)(d) — commercial confidence, for genuine trade-secret content.
• §8(1)(j) — personal information (customer-level data).
• Income Tax Act, §138 — statutory secrecy of individual tax records; interacts with §22 of RTI Act (overriding effect).
• §10 — severability; essential in mixed-customer-regulatory records.

1. Step 1. Identify the holder — regulator (RBI/SEBI/IRDAI/CBIC) or regulated entity.
2. Step 2. If regulator, default to disclosure of regulator's records per Mistry.
3. Step 3. If regulated entity, check whether it is a “public authority” under §2(h) — PSU banks yes, private banks no (RTI doesn't apply to private banks directly).
4. Step 4. Identify customer-specific elements — redact under §10 + §8(1)(j).
5. Step 5. Identify trade-secret elements (proprietary risk models, bid formulas) — §8(1)(d).
6. Step 6. Section 11 notice to third parties (borrowers, investors, policy-holders) where their confidentiality is implicated.
7. Step 7. Speaking reply citing Mistry where fiduciary is invoked and narrowed.

The RTI seeks the inspection report of [Bank/Insurer/Exchange]. This Office holds the report in its statutory regulatory capacity.

Following the Supreme Court in //RBI v. Jayantilal N. Mistry// (2016) 3 SCC 525, the relationship between a regulator and a regulated entity is not a fiduciary relationship. Inspection reports are therefore not exempt under Section 8(1)(e).

The report is enclosed at Annexure A, with the following redactions under Section 10:
- Customer-specific account data — §8(1)(j)
- Proprietary risk-model formulas — §8(1)(d)

First-appeal rights preserved.

The RTI seeks [loan details / account details / insurance claim details] of Shri X. The information is personal information of a third party and is exempt under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005.

This Office has applied §8(2) balancing. No larger public interest has been pleaded. //Girish Deshpande// (2013) 1 SCC 212 supports the narrow reading of third-party personal financial data protection.

Section 11 notice was issued to the third party; no objection to confidentiality was waived.

Severability under §10: No non-exempt portion separable.

First-appeal rights preserved.

• RTI for a PSU bank's NPA status. Institutional disclosure; Mistry.
• RTI for a named borrower's default status. §8(1)(j); exempt.
• RTI for RBI's show-cause notice to a co-op bank. Disclose after the notice has been adjudicated.
• RTI for a chartered accountant's working papers held by SEBI. Working papers are fiduciary (auditor-client); but SEBI's regulatory use of them is disclosable — surgical §10 redaction needed.
• RTI for own GST registration record. Disclosable to self.
• RTI for a private bank's branch data. RTI doesn't apply to the private bank; but RBI's supervisory record does.

• RBI v. Jayantilal N. Mistry (2016) 3 SCC 525 — narrow fiduciary reading; inspection reports disclosable.
• Girish Deshpande (2013) 1 SCC 212 — third-party personal data under §8(1)(j).
• CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011) 8 SCC 497 — four-factor fiduciary test.

• Blanket §8(1)(e) refusal citing “fiduciary” — struck down by Mistry.
• Over-disclosing customer-level data.
• Mixing tax-return secrecy (IT Act §138) with generic RTI analysis — §138 has its own regime.
• Ignoring §10 severability in mixed records.
• Assuming private-bank records are outside RTI entirely — the regulator's records on the private bank are within RTI.

• Build a customer-data redaction filter in the regulator's RTI workflow.
• Coordinate with the enforcement wing before releasing live-investigation material.
• Use §4(1)(b) to publish frequently-asked institutional data — reduces RTI load.
• Update “willful defaulter” disclosures regularly per RBI's own circulars.

Q1. Can a private bank reject RTI?
A private bank is not a public authority. But RBI's supervisory records about the private bank are within RTI.

Q2. Can SEBI refuse to disclose its investigation into a company?
During live investigation — §8(1)(h) applies. Post-order — disclose.

Q3. Is my own income-tax return disclosable to me?
Yes — self data to self.

Q4. Can I seek details of a taxpayer I suspect is evading tax?
Third-party tax data is exempt under IT Act §138 + §8(1)(j). Proper route is the Department's grievance portal, not RTI.

The banking and regulatory RTI landscape is largely settled after Mistry: regulator records disclosable, customer data protected, severability the work-horse tool. Apply the framework, and the replies hold.

• Section 8(1)(e) fiduciary framework
• Section 8(1)(j) framework
• 10 landmark SC rulings
• PIO & FAA knowledge base

• RTI Act, 2005, §§8(1)(d), (e), (j), 10, 22
• Income Tax Act, §138
• RBI v. Jayantilal Mistry (2016) 3 SCC 525

Last reviewed: 21 April 2026.