Wife Cannot Seek Husband’s Income Tax Returns Details Via RTI for Maintenance Claim: Delhi HC [Read Order]

In a recent ruling, the Delhi High Court held that a wife cannot seek disclosure of her husband’s income tax returns through the Right to Information Act, 2005 for the purpose of pursuing a maintenance claim as such information constitutes personal information and is protected from disclosure in the absence of any larger public interest.

Kapil Agarwal, the petitioner, filed a writ petition challenging the order dated 22 July 2021 passed by the Central Information Commission (CIC), which had directed the disclosure of his net taxable income details from the financial year 2007-08 onwards.

The dispute arose between the petitioner and Respondent No. 2, who are husband and wife, in the backdrop of ongoing matrimonial proceedings. The wife had sought the petitioner’s income details under the RTI Act in connection with her maintenance claim.

The petitioner’s counsel argued that the information sought was personal in nature and exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, as its disclosure would amount to an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

The respondent-wife argued that she had a legitimate interest in accessing the petitioner’s income details, as the same was necessary for effectively pursuing her maintenance claim.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav observed that Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act protects personal information from disclosure unless it is justified by a larger public interest. He further observed that income tax returns fall within the category of personal information, relying on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Girish Ramchandra Deshpande v. CIC.

The court explained that the concept of “larger public interest” must be interpreted in line with the object of the RTI Act which is to promote transparency in public authorities, and not to enable disclosure of private information in personal disputes.

The court also observed that the respondent-wife’s interest in obtaining the petitioner’s income details for her maintenance case cannot be treated as a matter of larger public interest.

The court pointed out that there already exists a proper legal mechanism for disclosure of financial details in maintenance proceedings, as laid down by the Supreme Court in Rajnesh v. Neha where both parties are required to file affidavits of income, assets, and liabilities.

The court held that the directions issued by the CIC for disclosure of the petitioner’s income details were not sustainable in law. The court set aside the impugned order of the CIC and disposed of the writ petition.

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