To make amendments to the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014, the Government has introduced the Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in the Lok Sabha on 11-05-2015 which has been passed by the Lok Sabha on 13-05-2015. The Bill is presently pending in the Rajya Sabha.
The salient features of the Bill are as follows:
- Amendments in Section 4 prohibit disclosures prejudicially affecting the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, or lead to incitement to an offence, etc. These amendments have been modelled on the provisions of Section 8(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
- Amendment to Section 5 provides that the Competent Authority shall not inquire into any public interest disclosure which involves information of the nature specified in the amended Section 4.
- Amendment in Section 8 provides that no person shall be required to furnish any information or answer any question or produce any document or render any other assistance in an inquiry under this Act, if the same is likely to result in the disclosure of any information of the nature specified in the amended Section 4.
This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply to a question by Shri Ashok Shankarrao Chavan in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions