100 RTI pleas? Gujarat govt "evades" revealing Rs 1 lakh crore scam inquiry report, prepared in public interest

Suresh Mehta

By A Representative
The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC), the state watchdog for right to information (RTI), has told the legal department of the Government of Gujarat must not lie, but admit, without mincing words, that a crucial report containing inquiry into 14 cases of corruption against the erstwhile Narendra Modi administration, is lying with it.
The order is based on a legal department government resolution (GR) dated August 16, 2011, which had, “in the public interest, people in Gujarat must know whether there is any substance in the allegations, particularly at the time when a strong public opinion is building across the country against corruption in public life.”
Modi set up the inquiry commission in August 2011 following Congress allegations, listing 14 corruption charges under Modi government, valuing above Rs 1 lakh crore, only to declare that “nothing has been found” against it. However, neither the administration under him, nor his successors, have made the report public.
The two-page closely-typed GIC order, signed by information commissioner RR Varsani, comes following the refusal of the legal department – prepared by Justice (retired) MB Shah – to admit that it had the report, allegedly to evade demands to make it public under RTI.
Seeking disclosure of the report under RTI for the last four years, former Gujarat chief minister Suresh Mehta, 80, told Counterview that he and his supporters must have made at least 100 RTI applications to get the MB Shah Commission report submitted to the Gujarat government in 2014.
“Let alone the report, for four long years they have even refused to reveal which department has got it”, Mehta said. It is well known that in 2012, a day after of the announcement of code of conduct for the December assembly polls, Cabinet spokesperson Jay Narayan Vyas told the media that the report had been “submitted” and there is no iota of truth in what the Congress had alleged.
“Ever since then, I tried to get the report, but I would get strange answers: The legal department would tell me the report is with the general administration department (GAD), while the GAD would tell me it was the property of the legal department”, he said.
He added, “Worse, speaking inside the assembly, then No 2 in the Cabinet, Anandiben Patel, had said the MB Shah commission report was with the governor, while an RTI plea with the Raj Bhawan said it didn't have it.”
Mehta made his last plea on October 29, 2014, when, again, the legal department said it “did not have” the report, forwarding the application to the GAD, which looks after personnel issues. In his appeal to the legal department's public authority on November 7, 2014, Mehta was again told that it didn't have the report, and that it is “lying with the GAD.”
This made the ex-chief minister approach the Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) on April 6, 2015. Nearly one-and-a-half years later, on September 6, 2016, the GIC called for a hearing on Mehta's application in the presence of the public information officer, legal department, who again repeated that the report was not with it.
The GIC order asked the legal department to just authenticate the matter “in 20 days”. Mehta told Counterview, “Even after 20 days, the legal department has not approached me to tell me that it has got the report.”
During the arguments at GIC, Mehta argued that it is “wrong to say the Shah Commission report belongs to the GAD” hence it could not give it. Referring to a GAD reply to the RTI application moved by a senior activist, Pankti Jog, dated November 6, 2012, which said that the Shah Commission report wuld have to be placed in the state assembly within six months after its “final report” is submitted, Mehta said, the final report was submitted on November 6, 2013.
While nearly three years have passed for the report to be placed in the assembly, Mehta said during the argument, as quoted by the GIC order dated September 9, 2016, that “there is no such provision in law that the report would be made public only after it is placed in the Gujarat state assembly.”

Comments

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

Proposals for Babri Masjid, Ram Temple spark fears of polarisation before West Bengal polls

By A Representative A political debate has emerged in West Bengal following recent announcements about plans for new religious structures in Murshidabad district, including a proposed mosque to be named Babri Masjid and a separate announcement by a BJP leader regarding the construction of a Ram temple in another location within Behrampur.

Search This Blog