According to the news agency PTI’s report on Saturday, September 21, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) stated in a right-to-information (RTI) response on Friday, September 20, that the cases where SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch recused herself due to a potential conflict of interest are not “readily” available and that compiling them would be a “disproportionately divert” of its resources.
Furthermore, according to the RTI response cited in the agency report, “information on cases where Madhabi Puri Buch recused herself due to potential conflicts of interest during her tenure is not readily available and collating the same will lead to a disproportionate diversion of the public authority’s resources in terms of Section 7(9) of the RTI Act.”
SEBI on claims made against Madhabi Buch According to the report, in response to transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd), the capital markets regulator refused to provide copies of Buch’s declarations to the government and SEBI Board on the financial assets and equities held by her and her family members, citing them as “personal information” whose disclosure may “endanger” personal safety.
Additionally, SEBI declined to make public the disclosure dates. According to the report, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of SEBI refused to declare due to “personal information” and “safety” concerns.
Since the information sought relates to personal information that does not relate to you and has nothing to do with public activity or interest, it may constitute an unauthorized invasion of an individual’s privacy and put that person’s life or physical safety in jeopardy.
Accordingly, the same is exempt under Sections 8(1)(g) and 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005,” the agency stated, citing the RTI response.