Woman can use RTI for info on husband’s income: CIC

Woman can use RTI for info on husband’s income: CIC

Ajay Parmar TNN

Jodhpur:18.11.2020

A wife is entitled to know about her husband’s gross income and can seek information about the same through RTI, the Central Information Commission has ruled. Such information cannot be considered as pertaining to a third party or beyond the definition of disclosable information under the RTI, the commission clarified while rejecting the denial of information to a wife seeking data about her husband’s gross and taxable income besides directing the Income Tax department of Jodhpur to provide her with the same within 15 days of the order.

The petitioner had filed an RTI application with the department seeking a copy of her husband’s I-T return, following which an officer of the department issued a notice to the husband, apprising him about the data sought by his wife as it belonged to a third party.

“The husband refused to share the information terming it as personal, following which the I-T officer stated that the information couldn’t be provided citing section 8(1) (J) of the RTI Act,” the petitioner’s counsel said. The first appellate officer also upheld the decision of the I-T officer and rejected her first appeal.

“We then moved the CIC stating there was a dispute between the petitioner and her husband and an application was already moved at a court for appropriate maintenance,” the counsel said.