Sakthi Shwetha N, School of Law, Christ University
ABSTRACT
The Corporate sector in India has seen a tremendous growth and positive developments with the impetus of Liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation movement. But with time, several frauds and scams in the corporate sector have also been seen to be increasing which lead to corporate failures. Thereby, a need was felt for the companies to have a strong corporate governance. Whistleblowing is an important tool that ensure that the company is driven towards its goal in the right direction. Whistle blowing is an act of reporting any illegality observed within the organization to the internal or external authorities. Corporate governance is set of rules which controls and direct the companies in the right direction. Whistle blowing plays a pivotal role in ensuring corporate governance. The practice of whistleblowing is an indispensable tool which secure good corporate governance. It is considered to be one of the basic features of good corporate governance. Whistle blowing is an indispensable part of an organisation’s good governance. The practice of whistle blowing inspires and prompt the employees of companies to voice against corruption and other malpractices prevailing in the corporation. Several international institutions and government addresses whistle blowing as a powerful weapon to fight against corruption. Whistle blowing is a lever of corporate governance. The importance of whistleblowing in the corporate world is tremendous and behemoth. Whistle blowers are vested with the obligation to raise an alarm or to blow the whistle when he/ she finds the management or any authority practice mismanagement. In other words, when anything illegal is found to be taken place in the organisation then the whistle blower will have to blow the whistle and bring to light the truth. Whistle blowing promotes transparency, fairness which are principles of corporate governance. Thus, whistleblowing is a mechanism essential for a good corporate governance. The research focuses on the legal regulations, committee reports and other policies governing whistle blowing. Further, it analyses how whistle blowing is an integral part of corporate good governance. The author also analyses important notable cases on whistleblowing. The research focuses primarily on the correlation between the corporate governance and whistle blowing. The purpose of this study is to outline the role of whistle blowing in relation to corporate governance, in helping to protect the organization and control the malpractices, illegality and the like within the organization. The author peruse the major pitfalls of whistle blowing policies in India.
Keywords: Corporate governance, Whistle blowing, Whistle blower protection, corporate good governance, corporate conscience.
