The Right to Information Commission (RTI Commission) has ruled that a private bank operating under a licence issued by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka falls within the definition of a “public authority” under the Right to Information Act, No. 12 of 2016.
The Commission made this decision while hearing an appeal filed by Udara Ranasinghe, a customer of Sanasa Development Bank. He had requested information about how the interest rate applicable to his loan had been reviewed.
The bank responded to his information request by email on April 9, 2025. However, the customer was not satisfied with the response and later filed an appeal with the Right to Information Commission.
During the appeal hearing, lawyers representing the bank said that the requested information had been provided by email on four occasions. The bank also argued that it did not fall within the definition of a “public authority” under the RTI Act because it was registered under the Companies Act, No. 7 of 2007.
The appeal was heard before RTI Commission Chairman Dayaratne Lankapura and Commissioners Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena and A. Mohamed Nahia.
In its decision issued on October 21, 2026, under reference number RTC/Appeal/1005/2025, the Commission completely rejected the bank’s position.
The Commission ruled that a private bank operating under a licence issued by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank falls within the legal definition of a “public authority” under the RTI Act.
Section 3(1) of the RTI Act states that every citizen has the right to access information held by or under the control of a public authority, subject to the provisions of Section 5.
Section 43 of the Act defines the term “public authority”. Paragraph (e) of that section also includes certain private institutions and organisations, subject to specified conditions.
The Commission’s decision clarifies how this definition applies to private banks operating under licences issued by the Monetary Board of the Central Bank. It also confirms that such institutions fall within the scope of the Right to Information Act.