Raw deal for whistleblowers

NO DEFENCE FOR DEFENDERS OF TRUTH: There is no legislation in India to protect whistleblowers.

          

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“Though we have some of the best laws in the world, there doesn’t seem to be a political will to put them into practice. In most states, you will find some of the weakest and the most corrupt people appointed as information officers,” said Arvind Kejriwal

The truth is clear: under the given circumstances if the Government is serious about bringing about a whistleblower protection act, then it must go through a series of public consultations before enacting it.

One of the key things that made the RTI Act a success was that it gave a time-bound frame for Government authorities to act upon a query. Is there a similar provision that can be enacted into the prospective Whistleblower Act as well?

“It can be enacted into a law, but the defaulters are not punished in most cases,” said Kejriwal.

The RTI Act says that if you don’t get the information within 30-days time, the salary of the guilty official should be deducted at the rate of Rs 250 every day that the information is delayed.

“But the reality is that the CIC has dealt with over 2,000 queries so far and did not impose penalty in more than five cases. It clearly shows that there is no will at the Information Commission or the Central level to implement the Act in its true sense,” said Kejriwal.

Anjali Mullatti said that her organisation has received several cases where people have staked their life and profession to reveal an ongoing scandal or act of corruption.

“My trust has announced the Manjunath Award and the nominations we have received so far have been of whistleblowers within the system. We find so many situations where complainants were either sidelined or harassed by public servants. They were posted to remote locations. In many cases, even their lives were at stake,” she said.

She appealed for recognition and reward from the Government for people who unveiled the “dark areas in Indian systems”.

Taking a more pragmatic stand, Dhananjay Dubey said, “Monetary rewards are of no importance to a whistleblower. The only incentive that a complainant can get is prompt action and due protection. His name may or may not be kept anonymous, but the people he names must be punished in public,” he added.