The SEBI Appellate Authority disposed of RTI Appeal No. 6834 of 2026 filed by Gobikrishnan against CPIO, SEBI, Mumbai. The appellant had sought information on actions taken on a complaint, a SEBI regulation cited in a reply, and SEBI guidelines for persons conducting Nifty futures and options coaching classes. The Appellate Authority upheld the CPIO’s responses and found no deficiency in the information provided.

Key Points

• Appellant filed RTI application dated March 10, 2026 seeking three categories of information
• CPIO responded on April 7, 2026; appeal filed April 12, 2026 (Reg. No. SEBIH/A/E/26/00134)
• Query 1 (complaint status): CPIO provided disposal status of CPGRAMS appeals bearing reference numbers SEBII/E/A/25/0000303, SEBII/E/A/25/0000312, and SEBII/E/A/26/0000010, all disposed of on March 12, 2026
• Query 2 (SEBI regulation cited): CPIO held query is a request for clarification/opinion, not “information” under Section 2(f) of the RTI Act
• Query 3 (F&O coaching guidelines): CPIO stated information is not available but referred appellant to SEBI circular dated May 24, 2024 on ‘Norms for sharing of real time price data to third parties’ and SEBI circular dated January 29, 2025 on ‘Details/clarifications on provisions related to association of persons regulated by the Board’
• Appellant alleged incomplete, misleading, or false information in the ground of appeal
• Appellate Authority dismissed the appeal, concurring with the CPIO on all three queries

Regulatory Changes

No regulatory changes introduced. This is an administrative order disposing of an individual RTI appeal.

Compliance Requirements

No new compliance requirements. The order reaffirms that requests for clarification or opinion do not qualify as “information” under Section 2(f) of the RTI Act, consistent with Central Information Commission precedent (Azad Singh vs. CPIO, Oriental Insurance Company Limited, order dated March 23, 2021).

Important Dates

• March 10, 2026: Original RTI application filed by appellant
• April 7, 2026: CPIO response to RTI application
• April 12, 2026: Appeal filed by appellant (Reg. No. SEBIH/A/E/26/00134)
• March 12, 2026: Disposal date of CPGRAMS appeals referenced in the order

Impact Assessment

This order has no market or operational impact. It is a routine individual RTI appellate proceeding. The references to SEBI circulars on real-time price data sharing (May 24, 2024) and association of regulated persons with prohibited activity entities (January 29, 2025) are contextual citations and do not alter those circulars’ existing obligations.