India`s bureaucracy and judiciary has inherited all the colonial reactions to dealing with the people. The gut reactions of the bureaucrat and judiciary due to their personal interests is to view any demand from the citizens with suspicion and mistrust. There is very minimal identification with the people outside the pale of their functioning. Given a choice between justice and self protection i.e. the protection of the coterie, even ‘honest’ civil servants and judges waver on issue of disclosing the misdeeds of their colleagues. It is therefore, highly understandable that they feel threatened by the whole concept of transparency and right to information.

Why it is so that we have enacted so many laws, acts and yet corruption and the crime is increasing day by day. Now for any enquiry from SIC and CIC against any top official, the e-mails received from them is “received and being looked into” but the correct reply will not come.

A few days ago a RTI application was filed before the PMO and Cabinet Secretariat seeking a relevant information. The reply from PMO was very swift “since RTI has been enacted by them” but gave away nothing.

The reply was information sought lay within the domain of the cabinet secretary. A few days later the Cabinet secy. also replied very fast “Information in the domain of PMO”. This is the way transparency is being advocated by the Govt. for RTI Act.

The case of  declaration of assets of Supreme Court Judges is well known to all of us.

But, nevertheless one should not get disheartened, you can information from the truant District Magistrate of Jhumri Taliyan and similarly from some small fry. But if you are for a bigger fish “GOD SAVE YOU”.

The moral of this is transparency sound very good, but not for VIPs.

THEY HAVE MUCH TO HIDE.