Description

Appellate Authority dismisses two identical RTI appeals filed by Ajay Basudev Bose seeking information about SEBI's recovery proceedings against Madhur and Sudhir Agarwal, finding queries vague, opinion-seeking, or already addressed.

Summary

The Appellate Authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 disposed of Appeal Nos. 6745 & 6746 of 2026 filed by Ajay Basudev Bose against the CPIO, SEBI, Mumbai. The appellant had filed an RTI application on January 17, 2026 seeking information related to SEBI’s recovery proceedings against Madhur Agarwal, Sudhir Agarwal, and Shiv Kumar Agarwal in a matter involving recovery of approximately Rs. 12.31 crore by SEBI’s North Regional Office Recovery Officer. The Appellate Authority upheld the respondent’s replies, finding the queries either opinion-seeking, vague, or already addressed.

Key Points

  • Two identical appeals (Reg. No. SEBIH/A/E/26/00063 and SEBIH/A/E/26/00064) were filed on February 10, 2026 and consolidated.
  • The RTI application sought four categories of information regarding GST registration verification, genuineness of registered premises, bank account details, and referral to ED/CBI for money laundering investigation.
  • The respondent’s reply dated February 04, 2026 denied queries 1, 2, and 4 as vague or opinion-seeking, and directed the appellant to SEBI Order No. WTM/AB/EFD-1/DRA-2/19/2018-19 dated 08.02.2019 for query 3.
  • The Appellate Authority concurred with CPIO’s position that queries 1, 2, and 4 do not qualify as ‘information’ under Section 2(f) of the RTI Act.

Regulatory Changes

No regulatory changes. This is an administrative appellate order under the RTI Act.

Compliance Requirements

No compliance requirements for market participants. The order applies only to the parties involved in this RTI appeal.

Important Dates

  • January 17, 2026: Original RTI application filed by appellant.
  • February 04, 2026: CPIO, SEBI responded to the RTI application.
  • February 10, 2026: Appellant filed two identical appeals.
  • Referenced SEBI Order: WTM/AB/EFD-1/DRA-2/19/2018-19 dated February 8, 2019.

Impact Assessment

This order has no market or operational impact. It is a routine RTI appellate decision concerning an individual’s information request about SEBI’s past enforcement/recovery proceedings. The underlying matter references a recovery of approximately Rs. 12.31 crore by SEBI’s North Regional Office against named individuals, but this order does not alter any enforcement action or create new obligations for market participants.

Impact Justification

Routine RTI appellate order with no market-wide regulatory changes or compliance requirements for market participants.