Whistle Blowers Bills passed by cabinet - What is it ?

Below are the important features of The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosure Bill, 2010.

1.It is aimed at protecting the identity of citizens who reveal information about the misuse of public authority and public money.

2.Once this bill becomes law, it would empower the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to penalize those who reveal the identity of whistleblowers or threaten them.

3.The penalty under the proposed legislation for the guilty is up to three years of jail and a fine of up to Rs.50, 000.

4.The bill also empowers the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) to impose a penalty on a public authority - Rs 250 for every day of delay beyond the stipulated deadline - that sits on complaints sent to them for their comments.

5.The CVC will have the powers of a civil court.

6.The commission will have powers of a civil court under this law; appeals against its decisions will lie with the high court.

7.The CVC will be the nodal agency in all such cases.

8.The bill, which has provisions to prevent victimization or disciplinary action against whistleblowers will cover, Central, State and Public Sector Employees.

9.The Bill also proposes that no court can interfere in the case and can have any powers over the decision made by the CVC. It will also be able to take action against anyone, who makes frivolous complaints.

10.According to reports, the CVC will also have powers to punish those making frivolous complaints in accordance with the bill's provisions.

11.It stipulated a two-year jail term and a maximum fine of Rs 30,000 for people who were found to be leveling false and frivolous complaints against officials.

Thanks Suchitra Madam for explaining / summing up the salient features.

It was supposed to pass at the time when POTA was passed, bill was ready long ago.

But big thing is how far CVC is reliable and credible. Since in spite of the Satyendra Dubey earnest request that his name should not be disclosed as he feared vengeful reaction from the people involved in the scam, but unfortunately the letter leaked from PMO and fell in to the hands of looters, which resulted in killing of GM NHAI Mr. Sateyendra Dubey.

Thank you miss suchitra.

Ms. Suchitra has given the main points of the Bill. 

Please if someone have the text,

U may Please search web site of law commision of India for the text,

On 3rd March, 2006, The Whistleblowers (Protection in Public Interest Disclosures) Bill, 2006 was introduced to provide for protection from criminal or civil liability, departmental inquiry, demotion, harassment and discrimination of whistle blowers, i.e., the persons who bring to light specific instances of illegality, criminality, corruption in any Government, public or private enterprise. 

It is officially called 'The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons making the Disclosure Bill, 2010'.

The killing of whistle-blowers Manjunath Shanmugam and Satyendra Dubey and many Right to Information activist by anti-social and vested interests has promoted the government to draft the bill.

Other Activist who were killed because of activism:
1. Amit Jethwa
2. Datta Patil
3. Satish Shetty
4. Vitthal Gite
5. Shashidhar Mishra

Nice Inforamtion Sameerji, keep it up.

Source /link:

https://www.karmayog.org/anticorruption/upload/4729/Whistle%20Blowers%20Bill_XI_2006.pdf

Dear All,

The whistleblowers bill is to protect informers, but since the information leaks from PMO who will dare to be informer. There are outlaws who openly do the crimes before the presence of police, but police does not come forwarded to stop the outlaws. This results in increase in crime. The law enforcement agencies sometimes are so helpless.

SHARADCHANDRA DANEJ.

Civil society unhappy with whistleblowers Bill

The government is ready with a draft Bill that aims to protect whistleblowers who raise the alarm over corruption in government ministries, offices and agencies. The draft legislation, called the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill 2010 is high on the agenda of the Union Cabinet. But activists are not happy

Transparency activists led by former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti, former Chief Election Commissioner J M Lyngdoh and former Comptroller and Auditor General V K Shunglu have called the proposed law to protect whistleblowers a “mere formality”.

The former bureaucrats-turned-activists, who formed the India Rejuvenation Initiative (IRI), have received support from right to information activists. A representation from RTI activists against the law has been sent to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi who also heads the National Advisory Council (NAC). “Even though the Bill concerns whistleblowers like us we have not been consulted despite government assurances,” an RTI activist said.

The Union Cabinet was expected to clear the redrafted Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill 2010 this week, paving the way for the Bill’s introduction.

IRI’s primary objection is to the title of the Bill. “It should be renamed the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Whistleblowers) Bill. In the Indian context, ‘informer’ has a certain connotation related with the functioning of police thanas,and that is not very flattering,” it said. “Quite often, informers are paid by police officers and there is very little protection, if any, for them, and quite often they become hapless victims of mafia/criminals,” IRI added.

IRI also objects to a section of the proposed Bill that states that no disclosure submitted after 12 months of it being known to the complainant will be probed. Another condition says no complaint will be probed after five years have lapsed from the date of the alleged act having been committed. “The periods… may be used by the bureaucracy to scuttle a probe on technical grounds.”

Official sources said the Bill was high on the agenda of the Cabinet meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Bill, if cleared by Cabinet and thereafter passed by Parliament, will go a long way in helping those who make public interest disclosures, sources said.

The new version of the Bill, finalised by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), keeping in mind the views of the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) headed by Defence Minister A K Anthony, is different from earlier versions as it defines the types of actions that constitute corruption. However, the EGoM was sharply divided over including a clear-cut definition of corruption, with the law ministry saying nowhere in the world is corruption comprehensively defined.

The redrafted Bill proposes to put in place a detailed system to handle complaints against government functionaries by people who wish to remain anonymous and require protection. The proposed law seeks to empower anyone who wishes to make a complaint of corruption or disclosure against a central government employee or any other central government-backed institution to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

The CVC, which will be designated the competent authority (CA) for complaints, will have the powers of a civil court, including powers to summon anybody, order a police investigation and provide security to the whistleblower. The CVC will not reveal the identity of the complainant. It will have the authority to ignore frivolous complaints.

In April 2004, under pressure from the Supreme Court, the government issued an order -- Public Interest Disclosures and Protection of Informers Resolution, 2004 -- designating the CVC as the nodal agency to handle complaints on corruption.

In its comments on the proposed law, the CVC has said that ministers, except the prime minister, should be included in the ambit of the proposed law. It has also said that the CA should be given the power to take action against any authority/officer found revealing the identity of the whistleblower.

The central government has admitted that people trying to expose corruption with the help of the Right to Information (RTI) Act often face harassment.

Source: The Hindustan Times, August 6, 2010
            DNA, August 6, 2010
          The Indian Express, August 5, 2010

source/link:

https://infochangeindia.org/201008078445/Governance/News/Civil-society-unhappy-with-whistleblowers-Bill.html

I have lodged a complaint of defalcation of Govt. money (1 crore) to west bengal vigilance commission. investigation is going on steadily. I'm co-operating the Investigative Officer Officially & openly. Victmisation has been started from my Superior Officers.I'm a State Govt. employee.Where should I approach to get rid of these victimisation?

Dear Mr. Tapan, you just inform to the concerned authorities of Bengal Vig. Commission.  If you like, please give details of them to me here or in PM or to DRF's email id or you can also phone me.  Don't worry our working is totally tricky and secret and none can even imagine.  We will make them busy & under fear to save themselves and they will not dare to have even eye contact with you.

And finally, Jo dar gaya samzo mar gaya.. Jo seena taan ke khada ho gaya uske saamne se sab bhaag jaate hain.  Himmat-e-mardan Madad-e-khuda.  Be sporty.