Govt. introduces Bill to protect whistleblowers in Lok Sabha

The Government today introduced in the Lok Sabha the much-awaited Bill to protect whistleblowers who report cases of corruption or wilful misuse of power by public servants and provide for punishment for those who reveal their identity or victimise such complainants.

The Public Interst Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosure Bill, 2010, was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Prithviraj Chavan.

The Bill brings within its scope public servants, defined as employees of the Central Government or tate Governments or any corporation established by or under any Central Act or any State Act, Government Companies, Societies or local authorities owned or controlled by the Central Government or the State Government and such other categories of employees as may be notified by the Central Government, or as the case may be, the State Government, from time to time, in the Official Gazette.

It provides for adequate protection to the persons reporting corruption or wilful misuse of power or wilful misuse of discretion which causes demonstrable loss to the Government or commission of a criminal offence by a public servant.

The proposed legislation provides for a regular mechanism to encourage such person to disclose the information on such misdeeds and lays down the procedure to inquire into such disclosures.

It provides for adequate safeguards against victimisation of the whistler-blower, that is the person making such disclosure and punishment for those who reveal the identity of a complainant, negligently or malafidely. It also provides for punishment for false or frivolous complaints.

The Government has brought the Bill because it found that one of the impediments in eliminating corruption in Government and the public sector was the lack of adequate protection to the whistleblowers.

The Law Commission of India had in its 179th Report, inter-alia, had recommended formulation of a specific legislation to encourage disclosure of information regarding corruption or mal-administration by public servants and to provide protection to such complainants. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission in its 4th Report on "Ethics in Governance" also recommended formulation of a legislation for providing protection to whistleblowers.

The Government had issued a Resolution No. 89, dated April 21, 2004, authorising the Central Vigilance Commission as the designated agency to receive written complaints from whistleblowers. The said Resolution also, inter alia, provides for protection to the whistleblowers from harassment, and keeping their identity concealed.

According to an official press release, the Government felt that such whistleblowers needed statutory protection as the protection given to them by the Resolution would not suffice and, therefore, decided to bring forward such a legislation.

NNN