Banking Regulation Act, 1949
34A. Production of documents of confidential
nature
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in
section l1of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947), or any other law
for the time being in force, no banking company shall, in any proceeding under
the said Act or in any appeal or other proceeding arising there from or
connected therewith, be compelled by any authority before which such proceeding
is pending to produce, or give inspection of, any of its books of account or
other document or furnish or disclose any statement or information, when the
banking company claims that such documents, statement or information is of a
confidential nature and that the production or inspection of such document or
the furnishing or disclosure of such statement or information would involve
disclosure of information relating to:
(a) any reserves not
shown as such in its published balance-sheet; or
(b) any particulars
not shown therein in respect of provision made for bad and doubtful debts and
other usual or necessary provisions.
(2) If, any such proceeding in relation to any
banking company other than the Reserve Bank of India, any question arises as to
whether any amount out of the reserves or provisions referred to in sub-section
(1) should be taken into account by the authority before which such proceeding
is pending, the authority may, if it so thinks fit, refer the question to the
Reserve Bank and the Reserve Bank shall, after taking into account principles
of sound banking and all relevant circumstances concerning the banking company,
furnish to the authority a certificate stating that the authority shall not
take into account any amount as such reserves and provisions of the banking
company or may take them into account only to the extent of the amount
specified by it in the certificate, and the certificate of the Reserve Bank on
such question shall be final and shall not be called in question in any such
proceeding.
(3) For the purposes of this section
"banking company" includes the Reserve Bank, the Development Bank,
the Exim Bank, [the Reconstruction Bank], 136[the National Housing Bank], the
National Bank [,the Small Industries Bank], the State Bank of India, a
corresponding new bank, a Regional Rural Bank and a subsidiary bank.