The Hindu Business Line : Making whistle-blowing 100 per cent safe

Whistle-blowing is one sure way of getting the signals of corruption in high places across before serious damage is done. Otherwise, these may not surface for years, as with the stamp scam. The government's antennae must, therefore, be tuned to catch these warning signals in time without betraying the confidence of the whistle-blowers. The government must, apart from tracking the criminals and bringing them to justice quickly, devise ways by which whistle-blowing can be rendered 100 per cent safe for the informants.

THERE seems to be little sense of distress in the country about India's being placed at a high rank in the perceived level of corruption among the countries in the world. This widely prevalent phenomenon, often coupled with criminality, is a malaise afflicting many parts of the country, with Bihar being the worst affected.

Venality has become a part of the system with hardly anyone being ashamed of it any longer. It has permeated virtually all levels of society and all areas of transactions, be they business or official.

The politics of multi-party democracy with expensive elections, the infiltration of criminals into politics, a bureaucracy vested with vast discretionary powers, a police force with a colonial mindset, and a lethargic judiciary have all provided fertile ground for this canker to grow unchecked and eat into the very vitals of civil society.

People are no longer shocked when they hear of multi-crore scams or highly placed ministers or officials caught with wads of ill-gotten money stacked in hideouts, or vengeful murders, often carried out by contract killers, for gain or silence.

The media, which revels in exposing all the sordid details initially, forgets about the issue once the story loses its newsworthiness. People, too, have very short memories and the cases drag along into oblivion.

Even feeble attempts by individuals and organisations to draw the attention of the government and the public to the nefarious activities are mostly met with indifference or stonewalling, on political considerations.

The cruel murder of the young engineer Satyendranath Dubey in Bihar, for his exposing the corrupt dealings in the contracts for national highways under the prestigious Golden Quadrilateral project, brings into sharp focus the high risk entailed in whistle-blowing, with few safeguards to keep the identity of the informant confidential.

The dastardly killing should bestir the Centre to ponder over the measures needed to keep the lines of communication from whistle-blowers open always without in any way endangering them.

The response of the government, apart from tracking the criminals and bringing them to justice quickly, would be to devise ways by which whistle-blowing can be rendered hundred per cent safe for the informants. The danger increases in direct proportion to the volume and extent of the scam.

Whistle-blowing is one sure way of getting the signals of corruption in high places across before serious damage is done. Otherwise, these may not surface for years, as with the stamp scam.

The government's antennae must, therefore, be tuned to catch these warning signals in time without betraying the confidence of the whistle-blowers.

The first step would be to enact laws that provide for total protection to whistle-blowers. As the Prime Minister is the highest authority, it is expected that people will feel more confident in conveying the matter directly to him than to any others.

In order to build faith and gain the confidence of those willing to pass on vital information, such cases should be dealt with by a special cell of the intelligence wing, directly under the Prime Minister, and quite distinct from the PMO.

The responsibility and the blame for any leak of identity or injury to the informants could then be nailed at the door of this cell.

The address of this cell can be given wide publicity in the media, inviting the public to share genuine information of wrongdoings involving huge sums of public money buttressed with tangible evidence.

People can be promised not only safety but also hefty rewards if the information results in substantial savings and their identities are revealed beforehand. However, it need not be mandatory for the informant to reveal his identity if he is afraid to disclose it.

There should also be an assurance that whistle-blowers will not be harassed for the information given, if it is not to the liking of the government.

They should never be dragged to court for identification or for interrogation. The cell will act only on the basis of information furnished and the merits of the complaint, either directly or through the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). The evidence for prosecution of the miscreants would be collected independently by the investigating agency. The informant will be completely out of the picture.

There will initially be a flood of bogus complaints and the cell will have to sift through them to pick such of those that threaten to be serious or appear to be the tip of an iceberg based on the material furnished. Vexatious complaints without supporting evidence can be easily identified for rejection.

But to insist on identity of the informant would mean closing the doors on whistle-blowing.

Needless to say, only persons of unimpeachable integrity should head this cell.

This special cell under the Prime Minister should use information furnished by the whistle-blower tactfully for further investigation, without forwarding his letters or revealing any details that may give a clue to his identity. The veil of secrecy will be somewhat akin in rigour to espionage or spy activities practised by different countries.

The heads of departments or organisations should, likewise, have a system of dealing with anonymous or open complaints. The present tendency to ignore anonymous complaints without a prima facie examination is fraught with the risk of ignoring timely alarm signals of misdeeds. Where they suspect deeper ramifications they should inform the intelligence wing confidentially, even bypassing the normal channels of communication.

Any failure to act on such tips, when subsequently revealed after the misdeed becomes public, should be viewed seriously.

The officers and staff of all departments and government organisations should be encouraged to be ever vigilant against corruption raising its ugly head. The single directive for probe by CVC of officers above a certain level should also be dispensed with.

Concurrently, all the political parties should in unison ensure that criminal elements are kept out of politics completely. There is no place for half-hearted measures in keeping the pernicious and criminal forces outside the political sphere. Otherwise the day is not far off when the mafia controls the entire political machinery and the government. The entire democratic fabric would then be irretrievably lost.

To thwart all these unsavoury developments, as an initial step, let persons charge-sheeted with murder, theft, violence, rape, and so on — even once — be barred from standing for elections or holding any public office.

Cases of politicians involved in corruption pending in the courts foisted by parties in opposition can be kept out of this embargo for the present to get the cooperation of all parties to fight this menace. Without such a rider, the move will be a non-starter.

(The author is a Chennai-based freelance writer.)

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