Hey howdy, hope you are all doing well.

Today let’s discuss the whistleblower act.

For instance, you are working as an employee in a company in which you are making decent money.

So, on a fine day, the boss of your company has been doing a lot of malpractice, misusing his power and making all illegal things. These all things are caught by you, then at that moment what will you do,

Will you ignore it due to a threat to your life?

Can you ignore it because he may expel you from employment?

Will you go straight forward to him and say it’s illegal to do and try to convince him?

Will you leave because he treats your family will be killed and considering all other dangerous acts?

These all questions will keep running in front. So, then what Wil will you do?

At last, the only gate opens to you is the police station, CBI CAC, CVG but, these are not the right place to file a case, due to as I mentioned earlier in my previous posts.

At last, as per your peers’ advice, you opted to go with the RTI Act, in which we can take the information, and also we can question him for incorrect approaches. 

Then as an employee, you are asking your company’s own files to question him, will your boss tolerate it, he will definitely take revenge on you in the long run, so, what to do……?

Even if you file a case in these spots, still you will have that threat because here they will reveal the identity of a person. Who has filed the case?

Whistleblower protection act

SOME TRACES OF ABOVE RTI ACTIVIST'S

Satyendra K. Dubey’s, whose murder in 2003 led to demand such legislation. In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, Dubey, a manager in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) posted at Gaya, had highlighted corrupt practices in the NHAI and specifically requested that his identity be kept secret. But the information was leaked, leading to his murder.

As a result, he was murdered after he exposed corruption in the construction of golden quadrilateral highways.

On the other side, 2 years later in Indian Oil Corporation, officer Shanmugan Manjunatha was murdered for filing a case for sealing a petrol bunk that was selling Adulterated fuel.

Not only these, many Right to Information activists in India including policemen, common laymen have been harassed and even killed for seeking information to provide, promote transparency and accountability in working of every Public authority domains and also people who seek information from gram sabha other local Authorities bodies have also been killed.

(If this continues like this, then who will question the Malpractice, illegal things in the public domain.

If this goes on like this will anyone come forward to question the illegal things, in which everyone is being killed who has been questioning the illegal, is this fair…..? 

So to tackle these kinds of issues the Indian government has introduced the whistleblower act. By seeing all these the birth of whistleblower has taken. 

WHO ARE WHISTLEBLOWER? 

According to a layman, in general, the word is linked to the use of a whistle to alert the public or a crowd about a bad situation, like sports references who used a whistle to indicate a wrong, illegal or foul play has taken place is called a whistleblower.

A whistleblower is a person usually an employee who exposes information or activity within a private, public, or government organization that is deemed illegal.

In general, we can file a case to the government about illegal things, in which our identity will not be disclosed to the public at any cost. 

They will provide us protection till the completion of the case. By keeping our name anonymous.

 In 2003 The Law Commission of India recommended the adaptation of the public interest disclosure and protection of the informer's Act 2002.

HISTORY OF WHISTLEBLOWER

After seeing all these murders on RTI activists the government decided to…..

In August 2010 the public interest disclosure and protection of persons making the disclosure bill 2010 was introduced in the Loksabha and Rajyasabha of the Parliament of India.

HOW WHISTLEBLOWER NAME HAS DRAFTED

The bill was approved by the cabinet in June 2011 the public interest disclosure and protection of persons making the disclosure bill 2010 was renamed as the whistleblower's protection act 2011 by the standing committee on personnel, public, grievances law, and Justice.

The whistleblower Protection Act 2011 has received presidential assent on May 9,2014, and the same has been subsequently published in the Official Gazette of the Government of India on May 9 2014 by the Ministry of law and Justice of GOI.

In 2015 an Amendment Bill was moved the proposed whistleblower must not be allowed to reveal any documents classified under the official secrets act of 1923 even if the purpose is to disclose acts of corruption, misuse of power, or criminal activities that dilute the very existence of the 2014 act.

Whistleblower laws in other countries also prohibited the disclosure of certain types of information,

These include information related to national security and intelligence received in a fiduciary capacity and only disclosure specifically prohibited by law.

Recommend read about sedition law in India. 

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RTI ACT AND WHISTLEBLOWER ACT

RTI act is a tool for obtaining information that concerns public interest whereas the whistleblower act is a tool for people to make disclosure of any corruption, fraud, etc.

RTI act is for people’s right to access information whereas the whistleblower act is to encourage stand against corruption. 

Hence, for this purpose if a whistleblower is making any sort of disclosure be it of national, sovereign importance it must be inquired for not conducting any inquiry will be turning a blind eye to acts that can prove fatal to national interests.

Here if a person files a case without mentioning his name or simple if the complaint is anonymous then it will be shown no action towards it.

This will be one of the loopholes of it, Because act should start investigation irrespective of the name given .their is illegal thing is happening they have to stop.

what will they do with a person’s identity, they came here exclusively for their identity should be hidden.

WHO WILL INVESTIGATE 

The Central Vigilance Commission will take care of all the cases at the Central level and at the state level, the state Vigilance Commission will take care of the cases.

DO YOU KNOW THAT WHISTLEBLOWER WILL GET REWARDS

A whistleblower who files a successful claim is paid a reward that equals between 15% and 25% of the amount recovered by the government. 

If the government joined in the case before settlement or trial. Probably this is not there in our country.

CONCLUSION OF WHISTLEBLOWER ACT

whistleblowers are entitled to a financial reward under the False Claims Act. In general, whistleblowers receive a percentage of the government’s ultimate recovery, and depending on the extent of fraud, the compensation for blowing the whistle can be substantial.

This is because it is an incentive for more whistleblowers to come forward to raise illegal things.

This was a very good initiative taken by the government because this leads to the eradication of corruption, malpractice, and illegal things.

By this, more whistleblowers will come and will raise their queries against the illegal things.

Even though it has loopholes it is very necessary for India because before this there is no such thing to tackle the problem. Let's hope for the future.

"WHISTLEBLOWERS ARE THE REAL HEROES OF THE SOCIETY"

Before this, there is nothing,

So, "Something is better than nothing”.Now you say is this really necessary?

Let me know in the comment box

SHARING IS CARING 🗣️.