Regulators needs to be more transparent: Shailesh Gandhi

Former central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, whose 10 orders against the RBI were upheld by the Supreme Court, on Friday said regulators needed to be more transparent in their functioning.

Gandhi was speaking at the 12th MR Pai Memorial Award Function instituted by PMC Bank at Indian Merchants Chambers, where he was awarded for promoting transparency through RTI. "The way the RBI is behaving, it is almost refuting what the SC has said. I had asked for some information from them and they denied saying matter is with the SC."

Recalling his decisions that were upheld by the SC, Gandhi said the RBI perceived to be supporting the wrong people and being non-transparent. Criticising corporate debt restructuring and strategic debt restructuring and other such terms for non-performing assets, he said banks were overvaluing properties against which loans were given.

"In case of Vijay Mallya's estate that was said to be Rs4,000 crore, no one is coming forward to give even Rs400 crore," he added.

Maja Daruwala, director of common wealth and human rights initiative, too spoke and said that what the SC had asked the RBI to provide, the latter should have done as suo motu disclosure.