The now more than one-year old Punjab government-formulated policy for the protection of whistle blowers in the state was notified on the state government’s website last week after the Punjab and Haryana high court reportedly directed the government to make the policy public.

The policy notified on 10 October defines a whistle blower as someone who makes a protected disclosure, and states: “A Whistle Blower/RTI Activist who has a threat perception of danger to his/her life or any liberty may approach the concerned District Magistrate or Commissioner of Police as the case may be. The concerned authority makes an enquiry of the threat perception within 48 hours of receiving the application and if it is found that the threat perception is genuine, then he/she shall be provided security forthwith.”

The policy, which was formulated in May last year, was dormant until Punjab advocate and RTI activist HC Arora moved the high court about RTI activists and whistle blowers in the state being “harassed” and “implicated in false cases”. [Notification/Daily Pioneer/Daily Mail]