Person's income tax details can’t be revealed under RTI unless public interest overrides privacy concerns: SC

NEW DELHI: The income tax details of an employee cannot be revealed under RTI as a rule, but an exception could always be made in public interest, the Supreme Court has said.

The court said in a judgment delivered on October 3, 2012, that the income tax details of a person can’t be revealed under RTI unless public interest overrides privacy concerns.

Such information is usually personal with no relationship to a person’s public activity or public interest, it said. On the other hand, disclosure of such information may cause unwarranted invasion of an individual’s privacy, the court said.

Performance of an employee is primarily a matter between him and the employer and is governed by service rules, which falls under “personal information”, the court said.