Sections 23 and 24 of the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014
Reporting on public interest disclosures and protection for actions taken in good faith under the statutory scheme.
Section 23 - Report on disclosures
Section 23 specifies the annual reporting duties of the Competent Authority and the corresponding responsibility of the Central Government or State Government to place the report before the legislature.
Section 23(1): Consolidated annual report
The Competent Authority shall prepare a consolidated annual report on the performance of its activities, in the prescribed form, and forward that report to the Central Government or the State Government, as applicable.
Section 23(2): Report to Parliament or the State Legislature
On receiving the annual report, the relevant government shall cause a copy to be laid before each House of Parliament or the State Legislature, as the case may be. This provides for legislative visibility into activities conducted under the Act.
Proviso: Annual reports required under another law
If another law already requires the Competent Authority to prepare an annual report, that report must contain a separate part dealing with the performance of its activities under the Whistle Blowers Protection Act. The proviso avoids the need to interpret section 23 as invariably requiring an entirely separate annual publication.
Section 24 - Protection of action taken in good faith
Section 24 provides that no suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Competent Authority, or any officer, employee, agency or person acting on its behalf, for anything done or intended to be done in good faith under the Act.
Who and what does the provision protect?
The specified protection concerns the Competent Authority and those acting on its behalf, rather than every person making a disclosure. It covers conduct done or intended in good faith in the exercise of functions under the Act. It should not be read as blanket immunity for acts unrelated to the statute or acts lacking good faith.
The phrase good faith is significant: the protection is conditional on the character and statutory connection of the action, not merely on the office held by the person involved.
Related provisions and official sources
The Competent Authority is identified in section 3 (definitions) according to the public servant involved. Read section 4 for public interest disclosures, and section 5 for the authority's functions when a disclosure is received.
Primary materials: Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 (official legislation text); Government statement on commencement (December 2025); Central Vigilance Commission (PIDPI information).