Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Nov 19: The Central Information Commission, through an order, has ruled that the wife has the right to know about the salary or income of her husband. This has come as a shock to the men, most of whom keep their trade, finance and other such issues away from the reach of the womenfolk of their families.

Now wives can obtain the income details of their husbands by filing applications under the Right to Information Act. The Central Information Commission has issued this order relating to a case of Rahmat Bano from Jodhpur.

Rahmat Bano had approached the income tax department seeking details of her husband, Rajesh Hyder's income. She wanted to know under the Right to Information, details about his income before and after tax. The department refused to divulge the information sought. She approached the Information Commission seeking these details. The commission, which heard the arguments, objected to the income tax department's reluctance to part with the information. It ordered the department to provide the lady details of her husband's income within 15 days.

The income tax department had said that the woman had sought details of income of a third party and therefore it does not fall within the ambit of the Right to Information Act.

In another such case, the commission in the past had said that the wives of government employees have the right to get information about the salaries of their husbands. However, it had said that such information should not be shared in public.