Law to protect whistleblowers in the offing
The Central Vigilance Commission will be made the nodal office with powers of a civil court to deal with the complaints, the draft of the Bill says
Published on 07/29/2010 - 10:10:05 AM
New Delhi: A Bill to protect the persons who make public interest disclosures is nearing finalisation, Minister of State for Public Grievances Prithviraj Chavan said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
According to official sources, in the draft being prepared under the name The Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill, 2009, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) will be designated the authority to which complaints against any central government employee or central government-backed institution will be made.
The CVC will have the powers of a civil court, including powers to summon anybody, order police investigation and provide security to the whistleblower, reports IANS.
The issue of protection for whistleblowers caught the attention of the entire nation after the murder of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) engineer Satyendra Dubey who had sent a letter to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, giving an account of corruption in the construction of highways.