Chief Information Commission set aside the orders of CPIO and FAA, directs the authority to apprise the wife about her husband Income
Mohd Irfan
Chief Information commission ( CIC) which has been set up under the Right to information act 2005 with a sole motoo to quashed the orders which has been passed by the subordinates authorities that are First appellate authority ( FAA) and Chief Public information officer ( CPIO) in flagrant violation of norms. It has been observed in the majority of the instances that information seekers who get misleading replies from the CPIO and FAA they then knocked the doors of CIC in order to avail the remedy which has been enshrined under law to them when the subordinates authorities miserably failed to gives satisfactory reply then they filed the RTI Application before CIC.
This RTI act 2005 is really a boon for the public as government officials irregularities came to fore during their lucrative postings in their respective departments which they indulged into as that of corrupt practices.
As per website of India .Com it has come to fore that Wife namely Sanju Gupta moved a RTI application before the CPIO bairelly in ( UP) seeking information regarding the income of her husband in order to know as how much her husband is earning. But to the utter dismay and chagrin of wife CPIO refused to divulged the income of her husband on the ground that we asked from Your husband to share his income but husband categorically denied the same.
Aggrieved of non furnishing of income by the CPIO, Wife then availed the remedy of First Appellate authority (FAA) apprised the FAA that moved an RTI application before the CPIO in order to know the income of the husband but CPIO denied the same. FAA after perusing the relevant record upheld the order of CPIO of not disclosing the income to the wife.
Then Wife left with no other option then to knocked the door of the CIC in Delhi and apprised that CPIO and FAA authorities under the RTI act 2005 denied to share me the income of my Husband.
CIC after perused the relevant records and relied upon the catena of Judgements of Honble Apex Court and HCs held “Wife is entitled to know about her husband income which has been earned by him and directed the authority to apprised the wife about the income earned by her husband within a period of fifteen days” CIC said in its order.
It is out of place to mention here in that there is no dispute that between Husband and wife but wife in order to know the income of her husband for the reason that husband not disclosed the income as such wife availed this remedy to know the income of her husband.
In Honble courts Wives filed a petition under section 125 Criminal procedure code for grant of maintenance from their husbands and Family courts after ascertain the status of husband meaning thereby the salary/ Income of the husband fixed the Maintenance of the wives and their children’s and even under Domestic violence also wives moved a petition before the court for grant of maintenance and Family courts ascertain the status of the husband.
Legal experts opined that this is a path breaking order of the CIC which would go a long way in addressing the plight of the wives who filed the RTI application before the department concerned of their husbands but the department concerned refused to share the income of their husbands at the behest of their husbands that the Husbands denied to share the income.
The moot question which arises for consideration is that why the department has to first seek the consent of the Husband to share the income to their wives . Reasons are that the Public information officers are not well acquainted with the RTI act 2005 had these CPIO and FAA reads the RTI Act 2005 meticulously then they not seek the consent from their Husbands.
There are cases came to fore where in Police officials who are CPIO and FAA designated under the RTI act 2005 in UT of Jammu and Kashmir they denied the Salary certificate to the wives on the ground we sought consent from your husbands and they denied the same coupled with the CPIO put this information of seeking salary certificate under section 8 ( I) (j) meaning there by this information is personal as such not put to public domain”One of the Social Activist divulged adding, either these CPIOs don’t know the exact meaning of section 8 ( I) (j) which talks about the personal information and second reason is that these subordinates officials of police department being shielded by these CPIOs and FAA.
These CPIOs and FAA needs to be acquainted about the RTI Act 2005 provisions particularly section 8 (i) ( j) as to which information falls under personal information because it has been observed those information which the CPIOs intends to deny the same they in the light of section 8 (i) (j) denied the same by misconstruing the section 8 (i) (j) with impunity coupled with penalties enshrined under the RTI act be impose for deliberate non disclosure of information sooner it would be done the better it would be!Because wives in UT of JK being denied the salary certificate under RTI by these CPIOs and FAAs to which the wives have to face insurmountable hardships, lamented Social Activist.
