Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Whistleblower Protection Bill is designed to help RTI activists -Manoj Mitta

Whistleblower Protection Bill is designed to help RTI activists -Manoj Mitta

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Feb 11, 2014   modified Modified on Feb 11, 2014
-The Times of India


NEW DELHI: With every passing day, the current parliamentary session - which is the last one before the Lok Sabha election - seems less and less likely to pass the six corruption-related Bills promised by Rahul Gandhi. In a bid to salvage the situation, Aruna Roy's group has zeroed in two of those six Bills, saying that they were "non-controversial" and "necessary complements" to the much touted RTI and Lokpal.

The national campaign for people's right to information (NCPRI) has been lobbying for the passage of the whistleblowers protection Bill and the grievance redress Bill, both of which have been pending since 2011. While the whistleblowers protection Bill is designed to help, among others, RTI activists seeking to expose corruption, the grievance redress Bill is meant to ensure timely delivery of goods and services by government authorities. Each of these Bills has its roots in high profile incidents. The western concept of whistleblower protection gained traction in India following the murder of engineer Satyendra Dubey in 2003 for taking on corruption in a highway project. The grievance redress Bill came out of a basket of measures proposed by Aruna Roy as an alternative to the sweeping powers of the Jan Lokpal Bill advocated by Team Anna.

Dubey's murder was traced to the leakage of his confidential letter to the Prime Minister's Office. At the instance of the Supreme Court, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government adopted a resolution in 2004 entrusting the Central Vigilance Commission with the responsibility of protecting whistleblowers. The demand for turning this executive scheme into a statutory safeguard gathered momentum due to a spate of murders of RTI activists, who had dared to break new grounds in uncovering graft.

Though it has been criticized for not going much further than the existing system, the whistleblowers protection Bill has its share of redeeming features. Widening the definition of whistleblower, the Bill extends protection to not just public servants but also "any other person including any non-governmental organization" making a public interest disclosure before the state or central vigilance commission. The Bill penalizes any person who has disclosed the identity of the complainant.

The whistleblower protection Bill also prescribes punishment for anybody "knowingly making false complaints". While trying to protect the honest officials named in false complaints, the Bill has not provided any penalty for the victimization of an honest complainant. Whatever its deficiencies, NCPRI has been demanding the passage of the whistleblowers protection Bill as it would anyway be an improvement on the existing non-legislative framework.

The enactment of the law would also help fulfill India's obligation under the UN convention against corruption which requires every country to incorporate into its "domestic legal system" appropriate measures to protect whistleblowers.

Under the grievance redress Bill, all public authorities would be required to appoint officers to redress public grievances. These relate to alleged violations of the citizens charter, which each public authority will be mandated to have laying down the timeline for delivery of each of the services or goods. The Bill prescribes a penalty of up to Rs 50,000 on officer failing to comply with the timelines in the citizens charter.

Though grievance redress was part of Team Anna's Jan Lokpal, NCPRI has been pushing for a separate mechanism on the premise that grievances may relate more to maladministration than any specific allegations of corruption.


The Times of India, 11 February, 2014, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Whistleblower-Protection-Bill-is-designed-to-help-RTI-activists/articleshow/30183311.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close