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PROTECTION FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS

The issue of protection for whistleblowers caught the attention of the entire nation when National Highways Authority of India engineer Satyendra Dubey was killed after he wrote a letter to the office of the then Prime Minister detailing corruption in the construction of highways. Dubey’s murder led to a public outcry at the failure to protect him. As a result, in April 2004, the Supreme Court pressed the government into issuing an office order, the Public Interest Disclosures and Protection of Informers Resolution, 2004 designating Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) as the nodal agency to handle complaints on corruption. However, such unfortunate incidents kept increasing and brought renewed focus on the need for a law to protect whistleblowers. Thus, Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill 2010 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 26, 2010. The Bill seeks to establish a mechanism to register complaints on any allegations of corruption, wilful misuse of power or discretion against any public servant. The Bill also provides safeguards against the victimisation of the person who makes the complaint.