A right to information (RTI) applicant seeking information on those investigation reports by the serious fraud investigation office (SFIO), which have been completed by investigative officers, has got some respite from the central information commissioner (CIC). The CIC directed the SFIO, which investigates white-collar crimes and corporate frauds under the Union ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) to upload such reports in the public domain on its website.
In his order of 5 March 2025, CIC Heeralal Samariya, emphasising the importance of transparency and accountability in governance, ordered the SFIO that: "Information regarding the names of companies and individuals against whom action has been approved by the ministry, based on SFIO's investigation reports, should be proactively disclosed in the public domain in accordance with section 4 of the RTI Act".
If you check the website
www.sfio.gov.in, you will see only the number of investigative reports that have been completed without any PDFs of reports having been uploaded.
Hence, it is futile to get the following figures uploaded therein, which merely mention in a tabular form that the number of cases investigated by SFIO is: 29 cases in 2022-23, 13 in 2021-22, 7 in 2020-21, and 12 each in 2019-20 and 2018-19.
There is no update from the year 2023. Considering that such serious frauds are directly linked to larger public interest, MCA has also turned a blind eye to the apathy shown by the SFIO.
Hence, CIC Samariya, in his second appeal order, has directed SFIO to publish the maximum possible information on its official website in the larger public interest. However, while doing so, CIC Samariya has asked its central public information officer (CPIO) to ensure that due diligence is exercised to ensure compliance with the RTI Act, particularly with respect to sections 8 and 9, to prevent the disclosure of exempted or sensitive information.
RTI activist Piyush Singla sought the following information under Section 6 of the RTI Act way back in November 2023 of details related to investigations conducted by the SFIO.
The request, dated 26 November 2023, specifically asks for completed investigation reports and a list of companies subjected to serious fraud investigations.
- A copy of all investigation reports finalised by SFIO, provided in a CD format. (He did not seek details of ongoing investigations but only reports that have been signed off by the investigating officers).
- A list of all companies against which SFIO has completed its investigation. (He did not seek case-specific details but only the names of the companies under investigation, including related and land-owning entities.')
In response to Mr Singla's RTI application, the CPIO and deputy director of MCA replied on 29 November 2023, stating that Mr Singla should go to the judicial court to seek relief as per the Companies Act of 2013.
The CPIO stated that "Attention is drawn to section 212(13) of the Companies Act, 2013, which states that notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law in force, a copy of the investigation report may be obtained by any concerned person by making an application to the court."
Dissatisfied with the response received from the CPIO, Mr Singla filed a first appeal on 2 December 2023, challenging the decision. The first appellate authority (FAA), director (investigation), issued an order on 26 December 2023, as follows:
- The FAA upheld the CPIO's response, reaffirming that the requested investigation reports could only be obtained through judicial channels. Citing section 212 (13) of the Companies Act, 2013
- The appellant's interpretation of the law, suggesting an alternative right to obtain reports directly from the SFIO, was incorrect and thus rejected.
- The FAA, however, directed the CPIO to consult the relevant section or unit within SFIO to ascertain the availability of the information and provide a proper response to the appellant with an update to the FAA's office.
During the second appeal hearing on 5th March, the CPIO of the SFIO also argued that the RTI applicant's request did not ask for any specific company, nor did he mention the period of information that he wanted, so it was difficult to process the request.
The CPIO further informed that the "SFIO investigations are conducted based on directives from the MCA. Upon completion, the SFIO submits its investigation report to the ministry, which then determines further action. Following the ministry's recommendations, prosecutions are filed against the concerned companies or individuals."
If you access its website, you will find that the SFIO office curiously has on its website only one fraud dated as of 2023, and that is the complete list of company petitions filed by SFIO arising out of an investigation into the affairs of Adarsh group of companies before NCLT (national company law tribunal) benches.
The directors of companies who are convicted is 241 in number and the list of proclaimed offenders (POs) is only nine in number, that too from 2017-2018. After that, there is no record on this website. Isn't it a pathetic state of affairs?
Just to recall, SFIO was established under the Companies Act 2013, by the government of India through notification No. S.O.2005(E) dated 21 July 2015 operating under the MCA.
As per the website, SFIO is a multi-disciplinary agency comprising experts in accountancy, forensic auditing, banking, law, information technology, investigation, company law, capital markets and taxation. Its primary mandate is to detect, investigate, and prosecute, or recommend prosecution for, white-collar crimes and corporate frauds.
(Vinita Deshmukh is consulting editor of Moneylife. She is also the convener of the Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She is the recipient of prestigious awards like the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting, which she won twice in 1998 and 2005 and the Chameli Devi Jain Award for outstanding media person for her investigation series on Dow Chemicals. She co-authored the book "To The Last Bullet - The Inspiring Story of A Braveheart - Ashok Kamte" with Vinita Kamte and is the author of "The Mighty Fall".)
