BEFORE THE APPELLATE AUTHORITY

(Under the Right to Information Act, 2005)

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA
Appeal No. 2416 of 2016
Devendra Kumar

Appellant

Vs.
CPIO, SEBI, Mumbai

Respondent

ORDER
1.

The appellant had filed an application dated January 29, 2016, under the Right to
Information Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as "RTI Act"). The respondent vide letter
dated February 11, 2016, responded to the appellant. The appellant has filed this appeal
dated March 9, 2016 (received at SEBI on March 14, 2016), against the said response. 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.

From the appeal, I note that the appellant is aggrieved by the respondent's response to his
application.

3.1

In his response, the respondent informed the appellant that the information sought by him
was not maintained by SEBI in the normal course of regulation of securities market and
therefore, was not available.

3.2

In this appeal, the appellant has reiterated the request for information contained in his
application.

3.3

I note that the respondent informed the appellant that the information sought by him was
not maintained by SEBI in the normal course of regulation of the securities market and
therefore, was not available. I do not find any reason to disbelieve the response provided
by the respondent. In this context, I note that the Honble Supreme Court of India in the
matter of Central Board of Secondary Education & Anr. vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay & Ors. (Judgment
dated August 9, 2011), had inter alia held that: The RTI Act provides access to all information that
is available and existing. 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
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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 CIC in the matter of Sh. Pattipati Rama Murthy vs. CPIO, SEBI (Decision dated July 8,
2013), had held that: 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. In
view of these observations, I find that the information sought by the appellant was not
available with SEBI and therefore, the respondent cannot be obliged to provide such non
available information.
4.

I, therefore, find that there is no need to interfere with the decision of the respondent. The
appeal is accordingly dismissed.

Place: Mumbai
Date: April 6, 2016

S. RAMAN
APPELLATE AUTHORITY
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA

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