This sample letter was adapted from the one sent by Madhav Godbole to the President of India.

Dear Sir,

I was shocked to learn that the Central Cabinet has decided to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act to deny information to people about the notings on the file. It must be underlined that right to information is a fundamental right and all that the Act was meant to do was to operationalise this right.  As you must be aware, the political elite as also the bureaucracy have never been sympathetic to this enactment. Series of Bills prepared by GOI before the present law was enacted brought this out fully. The current practice of indiscriminately marking files as confidential, secret and top secret must be given up at the earliest. The only exceptions could be matters pertaining to national security, defence, external relations etc. but they must be much more narrowly defined than is the case at present.

The decision of GOI to amend the RTI Act is highly retrograde and would totally defeat the very purpose of the Act. In fact, making the notings on the file open to people can be the single most effective check on the rampant corruption both at the administrative and political levels.  It can also strengthen the hands of officers of honesty and integrity.  It is only by ensuring transparency and accountability that governance can be improved. Demystification of the working of the government is the best way to empower a common person.  Needless to say, we should learn from  commendable practices in other democracies and not use some of their out-dated  policies to shield government functioning at home from public scrutiny.

In the light of the above, I would urge you to bring moral pressure on the government to review this decision.  Your intervention would go a long way in strengthening democratic governance in the country.  You have been a tower of strength in such endeavours in the past and hence this request.