In Israel, former President Moshe Katsav has been convicted of "rape, sexual harassment, committing an indecent act while using force, harassing a witness and obstruction of justice" by the Tel Aviv district court. The eighth president of the country, who served from 2000 to 2007, has been found guilty of raping an employee in 1998 when he was tourism minister and sexual harrassment involving two other women who worked with him when he was president. "Everyone is equal," the court said while delivering justice. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the conviction and the stern message that "all are equal before the law, and that every woman has exclusive rights to her body".

None of these would have happened in India. Let alone a president, even a junior minister or bureaucrat cannot be tried like this.

Take the recent scam involving telecom minister A Raja, who, despite losing his job, was finally questioned by the central bureau of investigation only last week. IOA president Suresh Kalmadi, who figures in the Commonwealth Games scam, is yet to be questioned. Both these cases might well end up like the Ruchika Girhotra case, in which the accused, former DGP of Haryana SPS Rathore, was jailed for just a few months for molestation way back in 1993.  

How many politicians and bureaucrats have been convicted of corruption or any such wrongdoing? Hardly any minister has been convicted by the court. No wonder, India ranks 87th on the Transparency International list.

Israel has shown the way. Will India follow?