Husband’s income not personal information under RTI: CIC in maintenance case
CIC Saroj Punani observed that IT return details are third-party information and that there was no need to furnish them to any third party, however, in a maintenance case the income of the husband cannot be considered personal information.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has recently in a matrimonial dispute stated that the details of Husband’s income cannot be considered “personal information” under Section 8(1) (j) of the Right To Information Act.
Ambika Bhatia, the appellant, had requested information on her husband's gross and net taxable income after claiming deductions under the Income Tax Act, 1961, for the assessment year 2013-14 to 2020-21 for defending her matrimonial court case and for claiming a fair amount of maintenance for herself and her minor daughter under the Domestic Violence Act 2005 and Hindu Marriage Act, 1954.
CIC Saroj Punhani directed the CPIO to provide Ambika with the "generic details of the husband's net taxable income/gross income" for the specified time period as specified in the RTI Application within 15 days of receipt of this order, without any charges.
It was further directed that a compliance report be sent to the Commission of CPIO immediately.
CIC Punhani placed reliance on a Delhi High Court judgment in Vijay Prakash v. Union of India, 2019, wherein the court observed that in private disputes such as the present one between a husband and wife “…The basic protection afforded by the exemption (from disclosure) enacted under Section 8(1)(j) cannot be lifted or disturbed..”.
"However, since the present case involves a maintenance case, Therefore, information regarding the husband's income cannot be considered as personal information", Punhani stated.
Bhatia filed an RTI application on October 21, 2020, requesting for her husband, Sanket Thapar’s gross and net taxable income after claiming deductions under the Income Tax Act, 1961, for the assessment years 2013-14 to 2020-21. She wanted to defend herself in the matrimonial court case and wanted to claim a fair amount of maintenance for herself and her minor daughter.
Earlier, the CPIO while rejecting the information sought stated that it is personal/confidential information of the tax-payer in question, and is subject to confidentiality under Section 138 of the Income Tax Act of 1961.
“Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act expressly states that personal information of a person, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public purpose, or the disclosure of which would result in an unwarranted invasion of a person's privacy, cannot be disclosed”, the CPIO added.
It was further stated that the only exception is when an applicant makes a convincing case of significant public interest justifying disclosure of such information.
Case Title: Ambika Bhatia v. CPIO
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