NEW DELHI: The Delhi HC has said that an individual cannot obtain details of their spouse’s income by filing an application under the Right to Information Act. The ruling came in a case where a wife argued that such information was necessary for deciding her maintenance claim.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said personal information, unless linked to public interest, is exempt from disclosure under Section 8 of the Act. The court also relied on the position of the Supreme Court of India, which has held that income tax returns are personal information.
The case arose from a petition filed by the husband challenging a 2021 order of the Central Information Commission, which had directed income tax authorities to disclose his taxable income details for the financial year 2007–08 to his estranged wife.
Setting aside the CIC order as “unsustainable in law,” the high court, in its April 28 judgment, said the information sought was clearly personal and did not fall under the exception of “larger public interest.” The court added that the RTI Act aims to promote transparency in public authorities, not to allow disclosure of private information unrelated to public interest.