The Rajasthan High Court has dismissed a writ petition seeking disclosure of a government employee’s salary details under the Right to Information Act, ruling that such data constitutes protected personal information. The Court declined to interfere with orders passed by the departmental authorities refusing disclosure, reinforcing privacy safeguards in service related matters.
The petitioner had invoked Article 226 of the Constitution challenging orders dated 26.06.2024 and 23.10.2024, by which the competent authority rejected his RTI request for copies of pay slips of an employee, Omprakash, covering January to March 2024. The request was denied on the ground that the information concerned a third party and was exempt under the RTI Act, 2005. The petitioner argued that the rejection was arbitrary and sought a direction for disclosure.
Upholding the departmental decision, the Court relied on the principle laid down by the Apex Court in Girish Ramchandra Deshpande v. Central Information Commissioner & Ors., which classifies service records and performance-related details as “personal information.” The Bench observed that such material is ordinarily confined to the employer-employee domain and cannot be disclosed unless a larger public interest is demonstrated.
Finding no such overriding consideration, the Court held there was no infirmity in the refusal and dismissed the petition, along with the connected stay application.
Case Title: Smt. Kanta Kumawat Vs. State Of Rajasthan, And Ors.
Case No.: S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 7374/2025
Coram: Hon'ble. Justice Kuldeep Mathur
Advocate for the Petitioner: Adv. Gopal Lal Acharya,
Advocate for the Respondent: None
Read Judgment @Latestlaws.com
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