Report No. 179
Scope of the Report:
The Commission proposes to refer, in this Report, to the evil of corruption among public servants and maladministration and the adverse effects thereof to the country, then to the options available for eradication of corruption, the right to freedom of expression and the right to know and the limitations of the right to privacy, then to the protection afforded to whistle blowers in various countries by the judiciary and in particular by the English Courts, the European Court and by the American Courts.
The Commission also proposes to survey the salient features of various laws protecting whistle blowers in UK, Australia, New Zealand and USA. Thereafter, The Commission will refer to the proposals for a Bill on the subject in India.
While in the United States of America, the federal statute which protects Whistle blowers is called the Whistle blower Protection Act, 1989, the English Act of 1998 and the Australian Act of 1994 are called 'Public Interest Disclosure Acts'. The New Zealand Act of 2000 is called `Protected Disclosure Act'.
These enactments provide a statutory procedure enabling public servants (in UK and in some of the States in USA enabling employees of private industries also) to make complaints in confidence to the prescribed authority regarding corruption or maladministration by other public servants in the same organization. Express provisions of the enactments protect the complainants from reprisals by those against whom complaints are made. A Bill on similar lines is appended to this Report.
Back
