The First Appellate Authority of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India disposed of an RTI appeal filed under Section 19 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The appellant sought information relating to the liquidator of WhiteHat Jr. Private Limited, contending that since its holding company was undergoing insolvency proceedings, the subsidiary should be treated as part of the corporate insolvency resolution process. The Central Public Information Officer denied the request, stating that WhiteHat Jr. was not undergoing insolvency resolution and, therefore, the requested information was not held by the public authority. Upon examining the RTI provisions and the admission order of the NCLT, Bengaluru Bench dated 16 July 2024, the Appellate Authority found that WhiteHat Jr. had not been admitted into insolvency proceedings. It reiterated that the right to information extends only to information held by or under the control of a public authority. Finding the CPIO’s reply adequate and consistent with the record, the appeal was disposed of.
BEFORE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND FIRST APPELLATE AUTHORITY
INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY BOARD OF INDIA
7th Floor, Mayur Bhawan, Shankar Market,
Connaught Circus, New Delhi -110001
Dated: 9th February 2026
Order under section 19 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) in respect of RTI
Appeal Registration No. ISBBI/A/E/25/000131
IN THE MATTER OF
Virendra Kumar
…Appellant
Vs.
Central Public Information Officer
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India
7th Floor, Mayur Bhawan, Shankar Market,
Connaught Circus, New Delhi -110001
… Respondent
1. The Appellant has filed the present Appeal dated 26th December 2025, challenging the communication of the Respondent, filed under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act). Since the Appeal required detailed analysis of different provisions of the RTI Act, same is disposed of within 45 days of the receipt of impugned Appeal.
2. The Appellant had sought information relating to the liquidator of a company, namely WhiteHat Jr. Private Limited. It has further been stated by the Appellant that the Resolution Professional (RP) of its holding company, i.e., Think & Learn Private Limited (CD), declined to furnish the said information on the ground that he is not conducting or supervising any insolvency resolution process in respect of WhiteHat Jr. Private Limited. The CPIO has replied that the information sought could not be provided, as WhiteHat Jr. Private Limited is not undergoing any insolvency resolution process. Aggrieved by the said reply, the Appellant has preferred the present appeal, contending that since Think & Learn Private Limited is undergoing insolvency proceedings, WhiteHat Jr. Private Limited ought to be treated as forming part of its corporate insolvency resolution process.
3. I have carefully examined the applications, the responses of the Respondent and the Appeals and find that the matter can be decided based on the material available on record. In terms of section 2(f) of the RTI Act ‘information’ means “any material in any form, including records, documents, memos e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force.” It is pertinent to mention here that the Appellant’s “right to information’ flows from section 3 of the RTI Act and the said right is subject to the provisions of the Act. Section 2(j) of the RTI Act defines the “right to information” in term of information accessible under the Act which is held by or is under the control of a public authority. Thus, if the public authority holds any information in the form of data, statistics, abstracts, an applicant can have access to the same under the RTI Act subject to exemptions under section 8.
4. Upon perusal of the admission order dated 16.07.2024 passed by the Hon’ble NCLT, Bengaluru Bench, it is evident that Whitehat Jr. was not admitted to the corporate insolvency resolution process of the CD. In this regard, the reply of CPIO is sufficient.
5. The Appeal is, accordingly, disposed of.
Sd/-
(Kulwant Singh)
First Appellate Authority
Copy to:
1. Appellant, Virendra Kumar
2. CPIO, The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, 7th Floor, Mayur Bhawan, Shankar Market, Connaught Circus, New Delhi -110001.
