Section 34A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 protects certain documents of a confidential nature, including reserves not shown in the published balance-sheet. When a question arises in any proceeding before an authority (other than one involving the Reserve Bank itself) as to whether a reserve amount should be taken into account, the authority may refer the matter to the Reserve Bank. The certificate so issued by the Reserve Bank on such question shall be:

Section 34A(2) provides that if, in a proceeding in relation to any banking company other than the Reserve Bank, a 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 the proceeding is pending, the authority may refer the question to the Reserve Bank. The Reserve Bank, after taking into account principles of sound banking and all relevant circumstances, must furnish to the authority a certificate stating the extent to which such reserves and provisions shall or shall not be taken into account. The section then expressly states that the certificate of the Reserve Bank on such question shall be final and shall not be called in question in any such proceeding.