Information Commissioner M L Sharma said the information should be disclosed as it may enthuse and motivate such assessees and others to pay their taxes in an honest and transparent manner.
Rejecting the contention of the Income Tax Department that the information is of third party, held in confidence, and if disclosed might endanger the life and physical safety of the assessee, Sharma said couple of years ago the department felicitated highest income tax payers publicly.
He said the exemption clauses cited by the Income Tax department do not hold in the instant matter.
"I see no reason why this information should not be disclosed. Shri Abrol's (Income Tax department representative at the hearing) reliance on this Commission's decision in Raj Kumari Vs Income Tax Department is not of much help to him as the factual matrix of that case is different from the present one," he said.