Whistleblowing: Indian Paradigm and Blemishes

Abstract

A whistleblower is defined as someone who divulges wrongdoing, fraud, corruption or mismanagement. Mostly the person could be an employee because he is the person who becomes adept in about the corruption or frauds which takes place inside a company or organisation. However since all organisations restricts publishing institutional information, the whistleblower often faces retaliation like dismissal from employment and even physical harm. Satyam scam opened the eyes of authorities and drafted Companies Bill 2009 to prevent further corporate frauds. The murder of Satyendra Dubey an engineer worked with National Highway Authority of India and the case of Manjunath Shanmugham induces the necessity of a stringent law which can protect the whistleblower. The introduction of Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosure Bill, 2010 will make the condition safer but need for an independent competent authority cannot be ignored. Strict criminal prosecution should be instigated in counter to those thwarting whistleblowers from acting against a corporation. SOX Act, 2002 effectively lays down the protection to whistleblowers and that should be followed by our nation a mere amendment to cl.49 will not serve the purpose. Private companies are not coming under the ambit.