The CBI’s investigation into the mysterious set of diaries has stalled, despite evidence of widespread corruption among top politicians and bureaucrats. Public-spirited citizens decide it is time to act. Journalist Vineet Narain picks up the story again and makes it a national issue through his video platform. Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani joins the crusade. Anil Divan, a formidable lawyer is approached to take on the public interest litigation, a first-of-its-kind corruption petition. The petitioners want the court to push the CBI to investigate, given the evidence it has. Divan is sceptical about the outcome, but comes on board. The first phase of the litigation plays out. 

References

A list of archival resources used to research this episode can be found here:

• Excerpts from Vineet Narain’s Kalchakra report

• Clip from Anil Divan’s interview with Bloomberg TV

• Excerpts from Justice JS Verma’s interview on the Doordarshan show “Mindscapes: Conversations with Rajiv Mehrotra”

• News clip about Lalu Prasad Yadav’s resignation sourced from WildFilmsIndia YouTube channel

• News clip of LK Advani’s press conference from Associated Press Archive

• Indian Corruption Scandal ScIndia  

Archive: https://documents.legalarchive.in/static/timeline/#Jain%20Hawala%20Case/AQU

Transcript: https://www.anildivanfoundation.org/episode2 

Credits:

Host:  Raghu Karnad

Guests: Abani Sahu, Ashok Kumar Panda, Kamini Jaiswal, Justice Mukul Mudgal, Prashant Bhushan, Sanjay Kapoor, Shantonu Sen 

Research Manager:  Ramya Boddupalli

Legal Researcher: Vipinn Mittaal and Uday Vir Garg

Scriptwriter: Ramya Boddupalli 

Script editor: Bhavya Dore

Fact checker: Vipinn Mittaal

Advisors: Lawrence Liang, Ranvir Singh, Shyam Divan and Vivek Divan

Head of Production: Shaun Fanthome

Creative Director: Mae Mariyam Thomas 

Production Assistant: Sakshi Nair

Sound Design & Mix: Kartik Kulkarni

Sound Editor & Music Supervisor: Lakshman Parusuam

Graphic Designer: Sephin Alexander