The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has disposed of a Right to Information (RTI) appeal filed by a retired banker seeking clarification on his eligibility for the Limited Insolvency Examination. The applicant, Mr. Ashok Kumar Sethi, had initially filed an RTI request asking if he was qualified to take the exam, to which the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the IBBI responded by directing him to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of the IBBI website. Dissatisfied with this response, Mr. Sethi filed an appeal, arguing that the information was wrongly denied. The IBBI’s First Appellate Authority reviewed the case and found no reason to interfere with the CPIO’s initial reply. The authority’s order highlighted that the RTI Act only requires a public authority to provide information it holds or controls, and in this case, the detailed eligibility criteria were already publicly available and accessible on the IBBI website. Therefore, the appeal was denied, as the information sought was not denied but was already in the public domain.
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: 11th September 2025
Order under section 19 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) in respect of RTI Appeal Registration No. ISBBI/A/E/25/000109
IN THE MATTER OF
Ashok Kumar Sethi
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 29th July 2025, challenging the communication of the Respondent, filed under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act). As the Appeal required a detailed analysis of different provisions of the RTI Act, same is disposed of within 45 days of receipt as enshrined under Section 19(6) of the RTI Act.
2. In the RTI Application, he Appellant had stated the following, “I am retired banker from State Bank of India, India largest sovereign leader as chief associate having experience of 35 years and have qualification of graduate passed in 1981 and CAIIB passed in 1996 and also a Chartered Banker (London) now an advocate practising law since July, 2023. Kindly let me know that am I eligible to write Limited Insolvency Examination”. The Respondent CPIO has replied as follows, “The details/clarification with respect to eligibility to write Limited Insolvency Examination is provided in the FAQs on Limited Insolvency Examination available on the website of the Board and accessible at https://ibbi.gov.in/en/faqs.” Aggrieved with the reply, the Appellant has filed the instant Appeal stating that the CPIO has wrongly denied the information and reiterated the queries as sought in his RTI Application.
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. In the impugned Appeal, the Appellant has raised queries pertaining to his eligibility to appear for the Limited Insolvency Examination, which is conducted by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). It is pertinent to note that the information pertaining to the Limited Insolvency Examination is hosted on the website of the IBBI at https://ibbi.gov.in/en/examination/view-examination/26. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Limited Insolvency Examination (For Examinations w.e.f 1 st July 2025) as available on the website, provides for the following information, “I am not sure if I have relevant qualification/experience. Where can I know the validity of my degree as per the Regulations? Ans: All the details regarding valid qualifications and experience have been provided in the FAQs for registration as an Insolvency Professional. The same can be accessed at https://ibbi.gov.in/faqs. Any further clarifications can be sought from the Insolvency Professionals Division of the IBBI by writing to ipreg@ibbi.gov.in.” In view of the aforesaid observations, the reply of the CPIO Respondent does not warrant any interference.
5. The Appeal is, accordingly, disposed of.
Sd/-
(Kulwant Singh)
First Appellate Authority
Copy to:
1. Appellant, Ashok Kumar Sethi
2. CPIO, The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, 7th Floor, Mayur Bhawan, Shankar Market, Connaught Circus, New Delhi -110001.
