The Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, 2011
Commonly known as
the Whistleblower's Bill, it seeks to establish a mechanism to register
complaints on any allegations of corruption or wilful misuse of power against a
public servant. The Bill also provides safeguards against victimisation
of the person who makes the complaint.
Highlights of the Bill
- The
Bill seeks to protect whistleblowers, i.e. persons making a public
interest disclosure related to an act of corruption, misuse of power, or
criminal offence by a public servant.
- Any
public servant or any other person including a non-governmental organization
may make such a disclosure to the Central or State Vigilance Commission.
- Every
complaint has to include the identity of the complainant.
- The
Vigilance Commission shall not disclose the identity of the complainant
except to the head of the department if he deems it necessary. The
Bill penalises any person who has disclosed the identity of the
complainant.
- The
Bill prescribes penalties for knowingly making false complaints.
Key
Issues and Analysis
- The
Bill aims to balance the need to protect honest officials from undue
harassment with protecting persons making a public interest
disclosure. It punishes any person making false complaints.
However, it does not provide any penalty for victimising a
complainant.
- The
CVC was designated to receive public interest disclosures since 2004
through a government resolution. There have been only a few hundred
complaints every year. The provisions of the Bill are similar to
that of the resolution. Therefore, it is unlikely that the number of
complaints will differ significantly.
- The
power of the CVC is limited to making recommendations. Also it does
not have any power to impose penalties. This is in contrast to the
powers of the Karnataka Lokayukta and the Delhi Lokayukta.
- The
Bill has a limited definition of disclosure and does not define
victimisation. Other countries such as US, UK, and Canada define
disclosure more widely and define victimisation.
- The
Bill differs on many issues with the proposed Bill of the Law Commission
and the 2nd Administrative Reform Commission’s report. These
include non-admission of anonymous complaints and lack of penalties for
officials who victimise whistleblowers.