A lot has been propagated in the past few months promising that the enforcement of the Right to Information Act, 2005 will ensure transparency in government functioning. It is this transparency which will throw sunlight on the internal files and working of the government and, hence, make the government more accountable and lead to eradication of corruption.

The Bofors case is the single most important corruption case in India which has shaken the faith of Indian society in governance. It is a case where a foreign national close to the preferred family of Indian politics was a direct recipient of the kickbacks in a Defence-related transaction where decision making was done by the recipient’s friend, the then prime minister of India.

We have seen in the past various institutions, including Parliament (Shankaranand-headed JPC), CBI and various political governments, being subverted in order to conceal the truth. At least five judicial pronouncements of the Delhi High Court, some of which were reversed, others not appealed against, also put a lid on the truth. Is every institution in Indian democracy going to be subverted to save this preferred family and its associates from exposure? Will the country be denied information about the facts of this case indefinitely?

Since as a citizen of India I was informed that the enforcement of the Right to Information Act 2005 will give me all the information about this case and lead to the elimination of corruption, I had hoped my remedies under the Act will bear result. So far I have not succeeded.

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