The Government has withdrawn its appeal against the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ruling to disclose details about political employees and their salaries under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

A private individual had requested this information, but the government initially refused, arguing it was "caste information." The ICO ruled otherwise and ordered the disclosure. The government then challenged this in the High Court but has now decided to drop the appeal.

Attorney General Ahmed Usham confirmed that the President’s Office will provide the requested details as per the ICO’s decision.

This issue follows a past request for the names and positions of 228 political employees who were removed from their roles. At that time, the President’s Office refused, citing a Supreme Court ruling.

That ruling came from a case involving the Bank of Maldives (BML), where the Supreme Court decided that board directors' salary information was private and a "trade secret."