MADURAI: Referring to an earlier high court judgment, which stated that a wife is entitled to know the remuneration pocketed by her husband, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court upheld an order passed by the state information commission.
The state information commission had directed an education institution to furnish the service details of an employee to his wife, to enable her to get maintenance from her husband. Justice GR Swaminathan passed the order while dismissing the petition against the commission’s directives.
According to the order, the couple had a dispute, and the divorce proceedings were pending. To seek maintenance, the woman had sought the service details of her husband through the Right To Information Act.
Justice Swaminathan observed that the petitioner’s wife cannot be termed as a third party. “When matrimonial proceedings are pending between them, the woman does require certain basic details. The quantum of maintenance payable to her will depend upon the remuneration the petitioner earns. Unless she knows this detail, the woman cannot make her rightful claim for maintenance,” the judge observed.
Justice Swaminathan referred to a Madhya Pradesh High Court order, which also stated that a wife is entitled to know the remuneration her husband gets.