act 048 of 1983 : Public Financial Institutions (Obligation as to Fidelity and Secrecy) Act, 1983

Section 1. Short title.

This Act may be called the Public Financial Institutions (Obligation as to Fidelity and Secrecy) Act, 1983.

Section 2. Definitions.

(1) In this Act, "public financial institution" means--

(a) the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited, a company formed and registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1913(7 of 1913);

(b) the Industrial Reconstruction Corporation of India Limited, a company formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1956(1 of 1956); or

(c) any other institution, being a company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956(1 of 1956) or a company to which the provisions of section 619 of that Act apply, which the Central Government may, having regard to the nature of the business carried on by such institution, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify to be a public financial institution for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Every notification issued under clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall, as soon as may be, after it is issued, be laid before each House of Parliament.

Section 3. Obligation as to fidelity and secrecy.

(1) A public financial institution shall not, except as otherwise provided in sub-section (2) or in any other law for the time being in force, divulge any information relating to, or to the affairs of, its constituents except in circumstances in which it is, in accordance with the law or practice and usage, customary among bankers, necessary or appropriate for the public financial institution to divulge such information.

(2) A public financial institution may, for the purpose of efficient discharge of its functions, collect from, or furnish to,--

(a) the Central Government; or

(b) the State Bank of India constituted under section 3 of the State Bank of India Act, 1955(23 of 1955), any subsidiary bank within the meaning of the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959(38 of 1959), any corresponding new bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970(5 of 1970) or under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1980 (40 of 1980), any other scheduled bank within the meaning of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934(2 of 1934); or

such credit information or other information as it may consider useful for the purpose, in such manner and at such time as it may think fit.

Explanation.--For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression "credit information" shall have the same meaning as in clause (c) of section 45A of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934) subject to the modification that the banking company referred to therein shall mean a bank referred to in clause (b) of this sub-section or a public financial institution.

¹[(3) Nothing contained in this section shall apply to the credit information disclosed under the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005 (30 of 2005).]

1. Ins. by Act 30 of 2005, s. 34 and the Schedule (w.e.f. 14-12-2006).

Section 4. Declaration of fidelity and secrecy.

Every director, member of any committee, auditor or officer or any other employee of a public financial institution to which this Act applies, shall,--

(a) before entering upon his duties; or

(b) where he has entered upon his duties as such before the date on which this Act became applicable to such institution, within thirty days from the date on which this Act became applicable to such institution,

make a declaration of fidelity and secrecy in the form set out in the Schedule to this Act.

Section 5. Repealed.

[Amendment of Act 15 of 1948.] Rep. by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1988 (19 of 1988), s. 2 and the First Schedule (w.e.f. 31-3-1988).

Section 6. Repealed.

[Amendment of Act 63 of 1951.] Rep. by s. 2 and the First Schedule, ibid. (w.e.f. 31-3-1988).