RTI Act not right tool to obtain spouse’s I-T returns, says Karnataka high court

BENGALURU: Karnataka high court has ruled that Right to Information (RTI) Act is not an appropriate mechanism for obtaining a spouse's income-tax returns in maintenance proceedings and said the RTI framework was built for achieving public accountability, not facilitating private litigation.

A woman from Mumbai sought details of her husband's income-tax returns from 2012 to 2017, along with taxes paid, and the name and address of the bank(s) connected with his financial records. Justice Suraj Govindaraj held that the right step was to seek information within the judicial proceedings, including summoning documents from the income-tax department or seeking directions under the court's powers.

"It is declared that I-T returns, assessment particulars, and related details constitute personal information under Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, and are exempt from disclosure unless ‘larger public interest' warrants disclosure," the judge said.

The I-T tax officer and chief public information officer rejected the woman's application and this order was upheld by the joint commissioner of income-tax.

Later, she appealed to the Central Information Commission. In April 2019, CIC directed the I-T dept to furnish information sought by her. This order was challenged by the I-T dept before the high court. The HC observed that her husband qualified as a third party under RTI Act. Hence, information sought by her could not be given under the Act.

Justice Govindaraj observed that Section 138 of the I-T Act reinforced the confidential character of assessee information and supported the conclusion that such information was ordinarily exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j), unless the larger public interest test was satisfied, while partly allowing the petition.