No IT Return under RTI Act - SC Dismisses Petition
THE Petitioner is Shailesh Gandhi an RTI activist and a former Information Commissioner. Under the RTI Act, he asked for the Income Tax returns and balance sheets of Ajit Pawar, the then Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.The CPIO of the Income Tax Department denied the said information sought by the petitioner.
The writ petition filed in the Bombay High Court was dismissed in June 2015 on the ground that, the Income Tax Returns constitute personal information and are exempted from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j) and that the said personal information can only be divulged if the CPIO or the State Public Information Officer reaches a conclusion that it would be in the larger public interest to reveal such information.
The activist appealed to the Supreme Court, but last week during the hearing, the counsel for the petitioner sought permission to withdraw the petition. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition as withdrawn.