Can the details of GPF be disclosed to one’s wife under RTI?

Background

On the second appeal of the appellant seeking the details of GPF of her husband, the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) in its earlier order dated 4.10.11 had observed that the information belonged to a third party. The CIC had directed the Public Information Officer (PIO) to follow the procedure laid out under section 11 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act with regard to third party information and take a decision on its disclosure on the basis of the submission of the third party. The appellant came with a complaint to the CIC claiming that no information was provided to her.

Proceedings

During the hearing before the CIC, the respondent stated that as directed by the Commission earlier, they had sought the submission of the third party and that the third party had denied the disclosure of information. Hence, they have not provided the information to the appellant. However, the respondent informed the Commission that the third party while denying the information has not given any reasons for the denial.

View of CIC

The Commission observed that the appellant was the legally married wife of the third party and as per the submission of the appellant, her husband has been refusing to pay her any maintenance allowance although she still remains his wife. The Commission directed the PIO to provide the required information to the appellant.

Citation: Ms. Sunita v. New Delhi Municipal Council in File No: CIC/AD/C/2012/000614