The Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that a husband can seek limited financial information about his wife through the Right to Information (RTI) Act to verify her income in a maintenance case.
In a recent case titled “Yash Malhotra vs CPIO, Income Tax Department,” the CIC directed a Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) to provide the husband with only basic financial details such as the net taxable income or gross income of his wife. This decision allows the husband to use this information to verify the financial evidence presented in a maintenance case.
The CIC’s decision is based on a similar case, “Rahmat Bano vs Chief Commissioner Of Income Tax,” where a similar request was granted. It means that, under certain circumstances, husbands can use the RTI Act to access essential financial information about their wives to ensure fairness in maintenance cases.