Hyderabad: The loans and deductions of a woman, who is a public servant, are her personal information and cannot be divulged, even to her husband, stated the Central Information Commission in a recent verdict.
Central Information Commissioner Madabhushi Sridhar held that while a husband had the right to know his wife’s salary (in case she is a public servant), information about her expenditure and loan deductions could not be given under the RTI Act.
“The salary amount and details regarding pay-scale of a public servant can be part of voluntarily disclosable information. However, deductions, personal loans, details of net or gross salary paid for a particular month, salary slip and residential addresses are not disclosable, unless the larger public interest is involved,” the order copy read.
In response to an RTI application filed by one Dr Dheeraj Kapoor, who was having a marital dispute with his wife Dr Chetna Kapoor, the public authority gave the salary details of the latter.
However, when Dr Dheeraj Kapoor insisted on further details of deductions, expenditure and the personal address of his wife at different times, these were denied to him, leading to an appeal.
“The CIC found that all that was sought, including private information, had been given by the Directorate of Delhi Health Services, in spite of her objections. It was held that as the information about the details of deductions and the address of Dr Chetna Kapoor was her personal information, the PIO had to necessarily follow the procedure under Section 11(1),” the Information Commissioner said.
