RTI resource on the CIC website that needs to be known more widely.

[murgie]

CIC | SEARCH (only CIC site)

I'm sure the longstanding commentators on this website are aware of all this but I thought it might help others who use this site. From the above CIC site, if you use SEARCH (and limit it to the CIC's own site) you can conveniently identify a large mass of related decisions of the CIC.

I searched just now using "SEBI" as a keyword, and saw a list of about 30 SEBI-related cases decided by the CIC. The overwhelmingly vast majority of the cases involving SEBI went in favour of SEBI and against the RTI appellant. But it has still been instructive, and not completely discouraging, to note the kinds of arguments the CIC commissioners accepted, and which they rejected (many on the grounds that appellants were not seeking "information" within the meaning of Section 2(f) of the RTI Act, but only 'advice, explanations or opinions' of SEBI, no matter how well-intentioned). For this particular distinction between what is or is not "information", even if someone has no interest at all in SEBI per se, using the above search exercise (RTI course builders, please note) can be helpful.

I can also see where my SEBI CPIO and AA have been stealing their language from. Of course, in my admittedly not unbiased and so far optimistic way I think they are all wrong in my case, and are like undergrad students doing a bad 'copy and paste' job on term papers!! (Maybe SEBI is guessing that a given Commissioner has a weakness for a particular argument ... the same folks, from SEBI and CIC, do see each other a lot, an advantage the rest of us, ordinary appellants, do not have.) Examples in the actual CIC decisions often provide more clarity than the Bare Act, and help in parsing language, for those of us who are not legally trained. Some of us could also benefit immensely from this in preparing our initial RTI requests. Best,

Murgie

[karira]

Originally Posted by murgie

CIC | (Maybe SEBI is guessing that a given Commissioner has a weakness for a particular argument ... the same folks, from SEBI and CIC, do see each other a lot, an advantage the rest of us, ordinary appellants, do not have.)
Murgie

Good catch !

1. The work allocation in CIC is segregated department wise.
IC Mr A.N. Tiwari looks after SEBI matters.
As you mentioned, the CPIO and AA of SEBI are the same in all cases.
Therefore you have all reason to attribute the fact of "familiarity".

2. If you look at many of the decisions of the CIC (not only those
involving SEBI, but also others), the final outcome is determined by
- the nature of the application & how it is drafted
- what points the appellant raises during the first appeal
- what points the appellant raises during the second appeal

If you prepare your case properly (by going through the RTI Act, the application, the first appeal, read similar decisions of CIC and SIC) and do several "mock" sessions before the actual event, I can assure you that you can argue with a positive result.

[kushal]

That is a good information. Thank You for letting us know.

[mpai]

Originally Posted by karira

involving SEBI, but also others), the final outcome is determined by
- the nature of the application & how it is drafted

The contents and draft of the original application is the main thing that determines the outcome. It also depends on how well the appellant can put forward his view to the Commission at the time of the hearing.

Manoj