State Bank of India once again refuses to disclose electoral bond SOPs

State Bank of India has declined to disclose its SOPs for electoral bond transactions, citing 'commercial confidence' and asserting them as the bank's 'intellectual property'

The State Bank of India (SBI) has reiterated its stance in response to a first appeal lodged under the Right to Information Act (RTI) and has once again refused to disclose the standard operating procedures (SOPs) provided to its branches for the sale and redemption of electoral bonds, reported The Times of India (ToI).

Citing "commercial confidence" and asserting that the information constitutes the "intellectual property of the bank," SBI justified its refusal, emphasising that the internal guidelines were exclusively intended for the dealing staff.

Anjali Bhardwaj, an advocate for transparency, filed an application on March 4 seeking access to the SOPs issued by SBI dating back to April 2017. After the bank's rejection of the request on March 30, Bhardwaj opted to escalate the matter by appealing to the first appellate authority (FAA) of SBI. Dissatisfied with the response received on May 17 from the FAA, Bhardwaj has now decided to challenge the denial before the Central Information Commission (CIC).

In its order dated May 17, the FAA stated, "The information sought is held by the bank in its commercial confidence and hence cannot be provided. Further, the internal guidelines are strictly meant for the dealing staff and the information is also intellectual property of the bank, hence rightly denied under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act."

Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act states, "Information, including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information."

Bhardwaj highlighted that the request for SOPs pertaining to electoral bonds stemmed from concerns regarding the ambiguity surrounding SBI's management of transaction data for the bonds. There were apprehensions regarding the potential tracking of the bonds due to SBI's recording of unique numbers for both purchasers and redeemers. "Even after the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme as unconstitutional and ordered disclosure of all details of EBs, SBI continues to withhold crucial information," she informed ToI.

"The FAA has failed to demonstrate how disclosure of SOPs would 'harm the competitive position of a third party' and has also not disclosed who is the third party in the matter. Further, the FAA has not weighed public interest in the matter and has blandly cited the document being an internal guideline to justify denial, even though there is no such exemption clause in the RTI Act," Bhardwaj added.