Will give interim protection to whistleblowers: state to HC

The state has sought three month’s time to come up with an appropriate policy for providing protection to witnesses, and was granted the same by the HC.

Justices A S Oka and A S Gadkari said: “The time granted as per an earlier order of October 10, 2014 to formulate a policy  for providing protection to witnesses has been extended to February 2015.’’

The court was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation which was initially taken up in January 2010 for protection of whistleblowers, but expanded to include witnesses. While the State came out with a policy for whistle-blowers, it had not for witnesses. It did so this year on April 11.

As per earlier orders, the government was supposed to file an affidavit providing database of whistle blowers in the state and the protection being granted to them, which was not complied with. “The government has to submit the compliance report by December 18. The next date of hearing in this matter is December 19,’’ the court said.

While hearing the matter on October 10, the HC had pulled up the government t for bringing out a ‘’deficient’’ policy for protection of witnesses while adding that it did not provide for interim police protection and contemplated an application to be made by the investigating officer or the witness to a committee which would eventually decide on it. According to the court, the time gap between the application made for protection and the decision taken could prove to be fatal.

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