Whistleblower

Agenda
To understand who a Whistleblower is.

Need for Whistleblower protection in
India.

Whistleblower protection in India
The current scenario.

What Is a Whistleblower?

Anyone who makes a good faith effort to
disclose information about
Improper governmental activities or
Significant threats to public health and safety

Disclosure may be oral or written.

A whistleblower can
Report actions that violate any state
or national law or regulation,
including but not limited to:
Corruption
Bribery
Theft or misuse of government property
Fraud
Coercion
Willful omission
Why Does India Need
Whistleblower Policies?
To protect the Whistleblower.

India values ethical and lawful conduct.

Policies are designed to:
Encourage timely, safe, and honest
reporting of alleged wrongs.
Ensure consistent and timely institutional
response.




Whistleblower Protection in India :
The Current Scenario
As of August 2012, India does not have
a law to protect whistleblowers.

Public Interest Disclosure and
Protection to Persons Making the
Disclosure Bill, 2010.

There have been multiple instances of
threatening, harassment and even
murder of various whistleblowers.
An engineer, Satyendra Dubey, was murdered in November
2003; Dubey had blown the whistle in a corruption case in
the National Highways Authority of Indias Golden
Quadrilateral project.


An Indian Oil Corporation officer, Shanmughan
Manjunath, was murdered for sealing a petrol pump
that was selling adulterated fuel.
A Karnataka official SP Mahantesh, said to be a
whistle-blower in controversial land allotments by
societies was murdered in May 2012.
A senior police officer, Devendra Dutt Misra alleged
that Mayawati's government was corrupt and had
embezzled large amounts of money. Shortly
thereafter, he was sent to a psychiatric hospital.
Bill for Whistleblowers
There is a bill pending in the government which is not very
efficient as it is restricted to the government sector only
and encompasses only those working for the government
of india, it does not cover state-government employees.

If enacted, the law to protect whistleblowers will assist in
detecting corruption, ensuring better information flow and
paving the way for successful prosecution of corrupt
individuals through clear and protected processes.


However, the public in India have a low level of
confidence in fighting corruption because they fear
retaliation and intimidation against those who file
complaints. Another worry pertains to the delay in
disposing of these cases. Without public debate on the
provisions of this proposed law, it is clear that people
cannot measure its effectiveness when the draft bill comes
into force as law.
Thank you
for your
time!

A presentation by,
Dhruv Aneja
12-ECU-033