ORDER
1. The appellant had filed an application dated January 23, 2024 (received by the respondent through RTI MIS Portal) under the Right to Information Act, 2005 ("RTI Act"). The respondent, by a letter dated February 08, 2024 responded to the application filed by the appellant. The appellant filed an appeal (Reg. No. SEBIH/A/E/24/00023) dated February 08, 2024. I have carefully considered the application, the response and the appeal and find that the matter can be decided based on the material available on record.
2. Requests in the application - The appellant, vide his application dated January 23, 2024 sought information regarding status of case of Paazee Forex Trading Company, Tiruppur.
3. Reply of the Respondent - The respondent, in response to the request, informed that the request does not pertain to SEBI. Hence, the information sought is not available with SEBI.
4. Ground of appeal - The appellant, in the appeal, has reiterated his request in the application and has requested that the information sought in the application may be provided to him.
5. I have perused the application and the response provided thereto. I note that the respondent has categorically stated that the requested information does not pertain to SEBI and hence, is not available with SEBI. I do have any reasons to disbelieve the response of the respondent. I note that the respondent can only provide information that is available in the records. In this context, I note that the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in Central Board of Secondary Education & Anr. vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay & Ors (Judgment dated August 9, 2011) held that "The RTI Act provides access to all information that is available and existing. This is clear from a combined reading of section 3 and the definitions of `information' and `right to information' under clauses (f) and (j) of section 2 of the Act. If a public authority has any information in the form of data
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or analysed data, or abstracts, or statistics, an applicant may access such information, subject to the exemptions in section 8 of the Act. But where the information sought is not a part of the record of a public authority, and where such information is not required to be maintained under any law or the rules or regulations of the public authority, the Act does not cast an obligation upon the public authority, to collect or collate such non-available information and then furnish it to an applicant."
Further, I note that the Hon'ble Central Information Commission (hereinafter referred to as "CIC") in the matter of Sh. Pattipati Rama Murthy vs. CPIO, SEBI (Decision dated July 8, 2013), held: "… if it (SEBI) does not have any such information in its possession, the CPIO cannot obviously invent one for the benefit of the Appellant. There is simply no information to be given." Accordingly, I do not find any deficiency in the response of the respondent.
6. In view of the above observations, I find that there is no need to interfere with the decision of the respondent. The Appeal is accordingly dismissed.
Place: Mumbai B RAJENDRAN Date: February 26, 2024 APPELLATE AUTHORITY UNDER THE RTI ACT
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA