https://article-14.com/post/how-india-s-corporate-whistleblowers-face-retaliation-get-no-protection-from-a-law-govt-keeps-dormant--683f70fe2ca95 Instead of being protected and lauded for exposing malfeasance, Indian whistleblowers face retaliation, legal harassment, and professional ruin. three such accounts from whistleblowers in prominent Indian companies that we investigated. These stories reveal how systems meant to take corrective action instead turn against those who reveal corporate malpractice—and how the law offers no protection.
The Whistle Blowers Protection Act of 2011, was enacted to allow the reporting of corruption, misuse of power, or criminal offences committed by public servants while ensuring that they were protected and not victimised.
Introduced as a bill in the Lok Sabha on 26 August 2010, it was passed by the lower house of Parliament four months later on 27 December 2011, and by the upper house, the Rajya Sabha on 21 February 2014. The act received the assent of the President of India on 9 May 2014, and was notified three days later.
Despite its enactment, the act has not been operationalised. The rules needed to actually enforce the law and make it work haven’t been put in place. In December 2014, the government indicated the need for amendments to safeguard against disclosures affecting the country’s sovereignty and integrity. To address these concerns, the Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015, was introduced and passed by the Lok Sabha on 13 May 2015.
The new bill prohibited disclosures related to 10 types of information, including information related to sovereignty, security and “economic interests” of the State. The bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha in May 2019 and has not been reintroduced since.