CIC issues show-cause notice to RBI governor Urjit Patel for not disclosing wilful defaulters’ list

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has issued a show-cause notice to RBI Governor Urjit Patel for allegedly “dishonouring” a Supreme Court judgment on disclosure of wilful defaulters’ list, news agency PTI reported on Sunday.

It has also instructed the Prime Minister’s Office, the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to make public the letter of former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on bad loans, said the report from the agency.

The Supreme Court had announced to make public all the names of the wilful defaulters, who have taken a loan amount of Rs 50 crore or above. But despite the apex court order, the RBI refused to disclose the details.

In its notice, the CIC also asked Patel to reason on why he should not be punished for “dishonouring” the verdict. The SC verdict, reports the agency, had upheld the decision taken by the then Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, who had called for all the names of wilful defaulters to be disclosed.

“The Commission feels that there is no match between what RBI Governor and Deputy Governor say and their website regarding their RTI policy, and great secrecy of vigilance reports and inspection reports are being maintained with impunity in spite of the Supreme Court confirming the orders of the CIC in the Jayantilal case”, Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu was quoted as saying by the news agency.

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“The Commission considers the Governor as deemed PIO responsible for non-disclosure and defiance of SC orders and CIC orders and directs him to show cause why the maximum penalty should not be imposed on him for these reasons, before November 16, 2018,” Acharyulu further added.

He also informed that “the commission finds no merit in hiding the names of, details and action against wilful defaulters of big bad loans worth hundreds of crores of rupees.

“The RBI shall disclose the bad debt details of defaulters worth more than Rs 1,000 crore at the beginning, of Rs 500 crore or less at a later stage within five days and collect such information from the banks in due course to update their voluntary disclosures from time to time as a practice under section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act.”

Acharyulu lastly said that the RBI governor should at least once remember the three lakh farmers, who committed suicide after not being able to pay their debts.