Karnataka High Court lays down procedure to access spouse’s income-tax returns in matrimonial disputes

Karnataka High Court establishes guidelines for accessing spouse's income tax returns in maintenance disputes, ensuring financial transparency and privacy.

The Karnataka High Court has issued comprehensive guidelines for spouses to obtain income tax returns and financial records of their partners in maintenance proceedings, as the law does not permit couples in matrimonial disputes to access each other’s financial data under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The court said that trial courts, in every proceeding relating to alimony/maintenance, at the earliest opportunity and preferably at the first effective hearing, enquire into the financial capacity of both parties and specifically ascertain whether either party wishes to seek production of financial records from the Income Tax Department or any other authority.

The trial courts should not determine maintenance based merely on oral assertions or unverified claims regarding income, particularly when the income of either party is disputed, but should suo motu consider invoking its powers to summon documentary evidence, including I-T returns and related financial records, the court said.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj delivered the verdict while allowing a petition filed by the Income Tax Department and setting aside an order of the Central Information Commission, which had directed the department to furnish a man’s returns to his estranged wife.

Accepting the department’s contention that I-T returns, which are “personal information” of the assessee cannot be disclosed under the RTI Act, except in larger public interest, the court also found that the trial courts have power in law to summon I-T returns and other financial details in matrimonial disputes.

However, on noticing the genuine difficulties faced by spouses in establishing the true income of their partners for determining just maintenance/alimony, the court issued the guidelines to be followed by all the trial courts in Karnataka and the I-T-Department.