In the space of less than a decade, the ongoing movement for the right to information in India has significantly sought to expand democratic space, and to empower the ordinary citizen to exercise far greater control over the corrupt and arbitrary exercise of state power. This movement was led by a people’s organisation, the Mazdoor Kisaan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) which created a space for nationwide demand for a law to guarantee the right to information to every citizen, with widespread support from social activists, professionals, lawyers, and persons within the bureaucracy, politics and the media, who are committed to transparent and accountable governance and people’s empowerment. Three successive federal governments in quick succession have committed themselves to the passage of a law to guarantee the people’s right to information and some state governments have actually passed such laws and administrative instructions. Finally, in 2005, the parliament passed a central legislation empowering the citizens with the legal a right as ‘The Right to Information’. This paper will attempt to outline the significance of the right to information, particularly in empowering ordinary citizens to combat state corruption.