India, May 4 -- An individual cannot obtain details of their spouse's income from authorities by filing an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Delhi High Court has ruled after a wife claimed the information was necessary for the proper adjudication of her maintenance claim.

Personal information, unless related to public interest, is exempted from disclosure under Section 8 (1)(j) of the Act, and as per the Supreme Court, an individual's income tax returns fall within that category, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav said.

The court was dealing with her husband's petition challenging an order of the Central Information Commissioner (CIC) directing the income tax authorities to reveal the details of his next taxable i...