Supreme Court holds records of private cooperative banks accessible under RTI if accessible to Registrar under law. Exemptions apply, but statutory oversight enables public scrutiny.
RTI Extends to Private Cooperative Banks: SC
The Supreme Court held that records of private cooperative banks are subject to the Right to Information (RTI) Act if they are accessible to the Registrar of Cooperative Societies under applicable state or central law. The decision clarifies that public function performance, not ownership status, determines RTI applicability.
The Court reasoned that cooperative banks, though privately managed, perform public functions such as financial intermediation under statutory regulation. Therefore, their records fall within Section 2(f) of the RTI Act when held by a 'public authority' or accessible via statutory oversight. However, exemptions under Sections 8 and 11 apply, including commercial confidence and privacy.
Where statutory powers enable a regulator to access records, those records are amenable to RTI scrutiny subject to valid exceptions,the bench ruled, balancing transparency and institutional autonomy.
This judgment expands the scope of accountability in the cooperative banking sector. Legal teams defending banks must assess RTI exposure carefully, particularly regarding internal audits, loan portfolios, and regulatory correspondence. Institutions should update disclosure protocols to comply with the widened interpretation.
Citations
- Right to Information Act, 2005, Section 2(f)
