Wife Gets Husband's Income Details Using Right To Information

Questions like 'how much do you earn?' are something most of us don't feel like discussing with everyone. Such information is usually disclosed to just the family members. However, in the case of a marital dispute, things are quite different.

When you file for a divorce, your finances, besides the emotional challenges, are also impacted. Assets are divided between the two. When the divorce is not mutual, in some cases, the wife may seek income details from her husband and demand maintenance.

Here, if the man refuses to disclose the income details, the wife can still get access through other ways. This happened in a recent case where a woman sought the income details of her husband by filing an RTI (Right to Information).

According to The Financial Express, the Central Information Commission (CIC), in its recent order, has directed the Income Tax Department to provide a woman with the generic details of her husband's net taxable income/gross income within 15 days.

The order came after the woman, Sanju Gupta, filed an RTI seeking the income details of her spouse. Initially, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), the Income Tax Department office of the Income Tax Officer, Bareilly, refused to provide the details under RTI as the husband did not consent to it, the report added.

The woman then sought help from the First Appellate Authority (FAA) by filing an appeal. However, the report added that the FAA upheld the CPIO's order, prompting Gupta to file a second appeal with the CIC.

The Central Information Commission went through some of its past orders and judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts and gave its order on September 19, 2022. 

It directed the CPIO to provide the wife with details of her husband's net taxable income/gross income that were available with public authority within 15 days from the date of receipt.