Whistle Blowing: Need Of The Hour For Corporate Governance

Harshit Bhardwaj, Amity Law School, AUUP, Noida

OVERVIEW

The term "whistle blowing" has multiple definitions. It can be used as a kind of free speech, a deterrent to corruption, or a process to settle conflicts within the company (David Banisar, 2006). Whistleblowing now has many different meanings as a result of this.

"An act of a man or woman who, believing that the public interest overrides the interest of the organisation he serves, blows the whistle that the organisation is engaged in corrupt, illegal, fraudulent, or harmful activity" is how American consumer activist Ralph Nader defined the term for the first time in the modern era in 1971.

Our group has determined that, given the variety of whistleblowing practices, the term "whistle blowing" shall be defined as: "the disclosure of organisation members' (former or current) disclosure of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practises under the control of their employers to persons or organisations that may be able to take action." The most recent definition of whistleblowing, however, was "the reporting by employees or former employees of illegal, irregular, dangerous, or unethical practises by employers."

This definition relates to the revelation of unethical or immoral business practises by current or former employees to individuals within the organisation who may be able to rectify the situation, as well as to persons outside the organisation who may be able to do the same. This disclosure is made by a person with privileged access to organisational data or information.