The Central Information Commission has criticised the Ministry of Finance for saying it has no information about that loans that industrialist Vijay Mallya took from different banks, PTI reported on Wednesday.
The commission, which handles complaints regarding Right To Information queries, told the Finance Ministry that its response was “vague and not sustainable as per law”.
Chief Information Commissioner RK Mathur was hearing an appeal by one Rajiv Kumar Khare, who said he had approached the commission as his RTI application that sought details of Mallya’s loans did not get a proper response from the Finance Ministry.
Khare said the ministry first told him the information about Mallya’s loans could not be given as it was exempted under RTI Act clauses related to personal safety, and that it would have a “prejudicial effect on the economic interest of the state”. The ministry official added that the information was not available with the ministry but that Khare may find it with the banks concerned or the Reserve Bank of India.
However, the ministry has earlier responded to questions in Parliament about loans sanctioned by banks to Mallya and the details of the guarantees Mallya gave for those loans.
The chief information commissioner has asked finance ministry to transfer Khare’s application to a proper public authority.
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