A RULING by the Court of Appeal has reopened the question of whether a State-owned energy company can lawfully withhold details of employee salaries, after finding that its response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request did not comply with statutory requirements.

In a judgment delivered on Friday, the court allowed an appeal brought by Devant Maharaj against Heritage Petroleum Company Ltd, setting aside an earlier High Court decision and ordering the company to reconsider the request in accordance with the law.

The panel comprising Justices Nolan Bereaux, Mark Mohammed and James Aboud ruled that Heritage failed to properly apply key provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) when it refused to provide the names and remuneration packages of its employees.