Paper-4, Booklet-2, Case Studies

PRESENTS THE KEY TO UPSC MAINS 2019 PAPER 4 Copyright © Aspire IAS All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Aspire IAS. 1

CASE STUDIES IN THIS BOOKLET, WE HAVE DISCUSSED SAMPLE CASE STUDIES TO HELP YOU ATTEMPT SIMILAR QUESTIONS IN THE EXAM, WITH THE RIGHT APPROACH. 2

CASE 1 You are a District Collector of a city which is scheduled to go to polls in a week. The responsibility to conduct fair elections has been given to you. However, suddenly your mother suffers a heart attack and has to be admitted to a hospital in your home district, which is at a distance of 250 kms from the district of your posting. Doctor informs you that she needs to be shifted in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and her chances of survival are bleak. You are the only child and want to be with her and your family at this moment. Your plea for an emergency leave has been rejected by the Election Commission. What would you do under such circumstances? ANSWER I have been presented with an ethical dilemma of choosing between personal and administrative responsibilities. Under the given circumstances, both of them demand my immediate personal attention. I will try to deal with the situation in the following manner: I will visit my mother immediately after work and then try to come back the very same day. This I will do to ensure my mental peace, and thus full attention towards my duties. I will ask the doctor to keep me updated about my mother‟s health. I shall communicate the same to my seniors in the government and request a medical attendant to my mother. In my absence (in case of emergency), to ensure that the elections are conducted peacefully, I‟ll take the following steps:  I will keep the election commission informed of my absence from city after office hours.  I will ensure that my subordinates and colleagues are aware of their duties and work so that even in my absence, polls preparation and execution does not suffer.  I will keep only selected colleagues informed of my absence from the city so that the general assumption keeps prevailing that the district collector is in the city.  I will always be in constant touch with all the concerned authorities and stakeholders. While at work I will try to be in touch with my mother so as to make her feel comfortable. During the telephonic conversation will try to comfort her that she would be well soon and also assure her that after the elections I will spend more time with her. I will try to use technological tools like Skype for video chatting with her on Internet so that she feels better. 3

CASE 2 Mr. Amit is the head of an NGO working in the field of environment conservation and protection. He is in dire need of funds for the NGO‟s operations and payments to his staff. He is approached by an official of a large infrastructure company, who is ready to provide the required funding for the NGO. But, in a quid pro quo, he asks Mr. Amit to raise objections over the bypassing of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) norms in an ongoing PPP project through his NGO. This project is being implemented by a rival infrastructure company. Mr. Amit knows that there have been instances of high level corruption in the process of granting EIA to mega projects and the information provided by the official seems to be authentic. Hence, he accepts the money and agrees to raise the objection. (a) Considering the circumstances of the case, is Mr. Amit correct in accepting the money? Give appropriate reasons for your answer. (b) If you were in place of Mr. Amit, what would have been your course of action? Give reasons for it. ANSWER Mr. Amit, running an NGO, is asked by a corporate to raise objections about laxity in granting EIA approval to a project of a rival corporate in exchange of funding to the NGO. Convinced that these objections are true, he agrees. (a) In this case several ethical issues arise before Mr. Amit which cloud his apparently good action: • Means v/s End: Though the end result of his action will be highlighting the corruption, but his motive is questionable. Highlighting corruption to get funding conflates arguable means to achieve desired ends. • Environmental ethics v/s personal ethics: His action is eventually going to benefit the environment conservation and protection but this occurs at the cost of his integrity. • Organisational benefit v/s organizational ethics: Again the organisation is benefitting by receiving the funds it direly needed but at the cost of compromise of organizational ethics of transparency in funding and objective decision making without quid pro quo. 4

• Truthfulness of charges: It is only mentioned that charges seem authentic. Before agreeing to raise them, it is expected that he verifies them on his own. Thus, it may appear that his action was pragmatic and necessary for survival of NGO and eventually beneficial on counts of tackling corruption and protecting environment. Yet, this action can‟t be justified on account of personal and organizational values. Benefits notwithstanding, it will set a wrong precedent and he is letting his NGO being used as a tool in corporate rivalry. It will affect the objective and impartial conduct of the NGO, which is of utmost importance for NGOs working in critical fields with so much public interest at stake. (b) If I would have been in the place of Mr. Amit, I would have taken the following course:  Independently inquire about the charges that have been presented before me so that truth is not compromised.  I would refuse to take money in exchange for raising the objections as it would be in line with my commitment to organizational values and personal integrity.  I would discuss the situation with my employees and ask them to accept cuts in pay for a brief period. I would make them understand the importance of serving public interest, which is the motto of any NGO against being an instrument to beat competition.  If the charges are found to be true it would have to be raised anyway with authorities.  If they are found to be false I would report the matter to appropriate agencies like Competition  Commission etc. mentioning how campaign to malign the image of competitors is being undertaken.  Meanwhile, I will raise funding requests with other potential donors or ask past donors for urgent funding making them aware of the crisis that the NGO is undergoing. Thus, without compromising with my values and organizational ethics, I can expect to overcome the crisis while doing the needful for the cause of environment. Though difficulties will arise, they can be overcome eventually without ceding ethical ground. 5

CASE 3 You are the team lead in a project. Your junior Mr. Ankur, in the team is an extremely hard working and a productive individual who always completes his assignments on time. However of late, it has been brought to your notice that Mr. Ankur has been misbehaving with Mrs. Anita who is a junior to him in the team. Mrs. Anita approaches you and apprises you of her uncomfortable situation in the team. According to her, Mr. Ankur has been making advances towards her in the wrong way and on occasions has even asked her out for dinner which she disapproved of. Mrs. Anita demands immediate action against Mr. Ankur. How will you proceed and what actions will you take to resolve the crisis? ANSWER The situation is one of alleged sexual harassment at the workplace which, if proved true, will portray the company in poor light, thereby affecting its credibility and profitability in the long run. A sense of insecurity might creep in among other female employees of the companies, thus hampering the team spirit. An independent panel must be immediately set up having women members on its board to probe the allegations impartially. Guidelines regarding the same have been laid down by the Supreme Court in Vishakha case. In order to ease the situation, Mrs. Anita should be transferred from Mr. Ankur‟s team citing reasons like team restructuring. Since Mr. Ankur is a competent employee, therefore, unless proven guilty one cannot initiate serious penal measures against him. However, during the investigation process, Mr. Ankur can be asked to stay (after speaking to him on the same) on leave as a cautionary measure. One can also inquire at personal level to find about the behavioural pattern of Mr. Ankur from other female employees of the company. If the investigation committee finds Mr. Ankur as guilty, one should immediately terminate him and not to be much concerned about his skills and efficiency as excellence and productively can be easily bought in the market, but not the credibility. Besides respecting women is a cardinal principle on which no compromise is thinkable. However, if the charges are proved wrong, one should immediately reinstate Mr. Ankur and apologize personally to him. Also penal actions should be taken against Mrs. Anita. In the long run one should get CCTV cameras installed at the workplace and even appoint women group leaders in the team so as to send a strong message to women in the organization that gender is no bar to being promoted. One can also send a note to the company to organise gender sensitisation camps to build awareness about female rights among other employees. 6

CASE 4 A state has been struck with floods and there is immense anger and frustration among people regarding delay in flood relief measures. A reason for the anger is that immediate relief is directed towards localities where the local MLA and MP (belonging to the ruling party) reside. There have been incidents where people have physically attacked the relief personnel. It is winter and there is threat of adverse weather in the coming week. You have been brought in as the new District collector as the previous one was transferred due to public pressure on the political leadership. Your senior has directed you to give special attention towards the same locality where the loyal voters of the MLA and MP live. In this background – 1. Bring out and discuss the ethical issues involved in the above case. 2. Also suggest the right course of action in the given situation. 20 ANSWER STAKEHOLDERS: ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVED: 1. People from the affected locality 1. Carrying out relief operation without 2. The Government and Administration favouritism. 3. Local MP and MLA 4. Me and the relief personnel 2. Discharging duty according to rule of law. 3. Assuaging fear of the general public amicably. 4. Protecting the relief personnel. This case study involves the classic case of conflict between populist interests of the elected representative and the duty of the selected official. Here it is imperative that the relief operations are carried out effectively to deliver the desired services that the government owes to people so as to prevent a humanitarian crisis arising out of flood and possible exacerbation due to an impending bad weather. Further as the District Collector it is my duty to uphold the ethics of administration by providing an impartial service to all by not succumbing to any external pressures. 7

The right course of action here would be to follow courage of conviction and ward off any external pressure from local representatives or from my senior officers and carry out relief operations impartially. This is important in order to uphold the trust people have in administration. Giving in to pressure would be tantamount to eroding the basic concept of check and balance on which the administration runs. Elected and selected representatives are there so as to reinforce each other to do the right thing. Further in the current case public opinion has forced the govt to transfer the previous District Collector so there is minimal chance of me getting transferred. Thus with security of tenure I should focus my energies on assuaging the fears of public and carrying on relief operations on massive scale. For effective relief work it is important that relief personnel remain motivated and are not attacked .To ensure this I should effectively involve the police force. Further all arrangements pertaining to food and shelter should be made keeping winter season in mind. I should also engage the civil society and media so as to strengthen the credibility of operation and prevent people from resorting to violence. Proper information dissemination is the key to prevent law and order situation during such times. By adopting this course of action I would uphold the dignity of my post, maintain civil services neutrality, provide effective relief to people, uphold personal integrity and courage of conviction and thereby provide legitimacy to the concept that democracy is by the people and for the people. 8

CASE 5 A seasoned criminal with many murder charges on him has escaped from a jail. There is a likelihood that he will kill more people while he is on the run. Mr. Vivek who is the police inspector in the area has found links to trace the criminal‟s presence in his area. Mr. Vivek has a reputation of a being an encounter specialist since he doesn‟t believe much in the efficacy of judicial trials as they are time consuming. It is likely that Mr. Vivek will do the same this time. His subordinates, though, disapprove of encounter killings as a routine measure, dare not oppose him due to hierarchical pressure. A constable Mr. Chandan doesn‟t want to participate in the encounter operation, but due to the fear of being terminated, he is left with no choices. Given the above situation, consider the following questions: 1. What are the moral issues involved in this situation? 2. Though encounter killing is legally valid is it morally correct too? If yes, how? 3. How is Mr. Chandan participating in the encounter morally valid? ANSWER 1. The moral issues involved in the above situation are:  The right to life and fair justice, even for a seasoned criminal.  The extent to which humanitarian concerns can be bypassed so as to maintain law and order.  An individual being forced to participate in a specific work against his/her voice of conscience.  The culture of extra-judicial killings in a just society.  An individual‟s (in power) discretion to determine the type of justice to be given to a criminal. 2. Encounter Killing is not legally correct as even in the case of Ajmal Kasab, he was tried and when proven guilty then hanged. Extra-judicial killings can be validated only on grounds of self-defence, killing in warfare or in extreme cases to protect lives of innocent people and to maintain law and order. The Indian judicial system discourages such killings even for Army and the court marshal of the officers involved in Pathribal killings (2000) enunciate it more strongly. In the Indian 9

administrative setup, police officers are like shields for innocent people and the sword of justice lies with the judiciary. Even morally it is not right, as it sets a wrong precedent for the future and in the future, even innocent under trials might be killed to close a case or as a case of revengeful killing. Further, as Mahatma Gandhi had said, “An eye for an eye makes the world blind.” Thus, the killing doesn‟t necessarily end crime in a society. 3. The participation of the constable in the operation is valid on following moral grounds.  As a public servant, he must submit all his inclinations to the call of duty.  In this case, the virtue of integrity, i.e., his faithfulness to the organization must be given more importance than his voice of conscience.  If he refuses to participate, it will adversely affect the overall morale in the team.  His condition of service demands that he should follow orders from his superiors without complaint. 10

CASE 6 A deadly epidemic has broken out in West Africa killing thousands of people in a short span of time and infecting many others. There is no vaccine or treatment available to cure the disease. You are the head of the health department of one of the countries that have been severely hit by the epidemic. While there is no treatment currently available for the disease, an experimental drug is being used in some other country. This drug has shown positive results and consequently some of the patients have also managed to recover from the disease. However, it is not yet clear whether the relief came due to the drug alone, or otherwise. Given the high mortality rate of the disease and its rapid spread, other countries affected by this disease have already given a go-ahead for the mass production of this experimental drug. But some health experts are sceptical about the efficacy of the drug and have even warned against its use as it may result in some deadly side-effects. (a) Bring out and discuss the ethical issues involved in the above case. (b) What would you do in the above situation? Give reasons. ANSWER The facts of the case are – • The epidemic is deadly with a high fatality rate. • There is no cure for the virus except for an experimental drug whose efficacy is questionable. • Some countries affected by this disease have given a go ahead for use of the experimental drug. The ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVED here are – The disease is causing havoc among the population. As a head of Health department it is my duty to take steps to tackle the situation. The experimental drug has not proved its efficacy in tackling the disease. Without proper clinical trials it would be unethical to give this drug to the victims. Also, some health experts have warned against the possible side-effects of the drug. Thus administering the drug may prove to be worse than the disease. But in the absence of any other medication and the rapid spread of the disease, means that some urgent action needs to be taken before the situation goes out of control. Time is not a luxury that I 11

have. Thus the question comes down to whether to go ahead with the current cure or wait for clinical approval of the drug. OPTIONS AVAILABLE – 1) Wait for clinically approved drug – This option will save me from running the risk of any side- effects that may arise from using the experimental drug. But as the epidemic is spreading rapidly and finding a sure-fire cure may take time, it may be possible that a large population will be affected with a huge death-toll before the cure is administered to the people. Hence, this option is not suitable. 2) Give go ahead for the use of the experimental drug – The situation is very dire in my country and it requires immediate action. This will ensure that some sort of action is taken on my part. But it is also possible that the cure may prove ineffective and in worst case scenario, affect the population adversely. Hence, without any clinical approval, it is not suitable to administer the drug to the population. 3) Wait to see what impact the drug has on the neighbouring countries‟ affected population and act accordingly – This option accords equal importance to gauging the efficacy of the drug and also keeping public health in mind. If the drug shows positive signs in other countries and no side- effects, then I will also give a go ahead to use of this drug. But if the drug proves ineffective or results in major side-effects then I will not allow the use of this experimental drug. This will save the population from something which is worse than the cure, though the delay may cause some additional deaths. I will choose the 3rd option as it is an informed decision. Though the wait period may result in some deaths but the larger affected population will be saved from being administered a wrong cure. This option shows that instead of panicking under the outbreak of epidemic and going with any available untested cure, I have followed an informed course of action. 12

CASE 7 You are the senior manager in Indian Oil refinery. The Indian government has sent you to another country to apply for a tender for a big project. After arriving there you find out that the officials of that particular country do not pass a project without taking a bribe. You also get to know that the probability of other competing countries paying the bribe is quite high. India is a signatory to the United Nation Convention against Corruption. What suggestion can you give to the Indian government in this situation, especially when you know how important this particular project is for the country? ANSWER In this case one is stretched by being forced to choose between material gains and values of financial integrity. Getting this proposal is indispensable for the long-term benefits of the country due to its revenue potential and also for meeting the growing energy needs of the country. Also, the issue involves other international countries that can go to any extent to secure the contract. Hence, to win the contracts one can present the long term benefits that the other country will have if it awards this contract to India. One can offer attractive prospects such as lower cost of production, higher outputs, etc., which are unique to India. As the country‟s representative at an international forum, one must safeguard its honour while also trying to win the contract. In the event of any wrongdoing, one can try to investigate the foul play by other signatories and prepare a case to be presented at the United Nations. Giving bribes may yield short-term benefits but in the long run, it will harm the image of our country lacking credibility. Throughout the entire episode one should communicate all developments to the concerned officials in the company and also to the oil ministry. Such communications may help the concerned ministry to exert diplomatic pressure on the other country. During the visit one should collect all relevant information about the different ways in which contracts are awarded and prepare a detailed report on the same. In future, such reports would aid planning and research in PSUs and award of offshore contracts. 13

CASE 8 You are a government official. One day you find out that your subordinate is infected with HIV. Before you could stop the news from spreading, it had already become a topic of discussion among other members of the office. Now, they are pressuring you to suspend, sack or transfer him as they fear that his presence in the office might lead to other members getting contaminated with the virus. You try to make them understand that HIV does not spread from touching, but they are so sceptic and scared that they refuse to even listen to your reasoning. They all decide to not work till the HIV positive employee. Your office is already under a lot of work pressure and in the next week you are to finish some work within a deadline. How will you tackle this problem? Elaborate the steps that you will take to handle it. ANSWER This situation deals more with an implementation problem of a decision (already in mind) and not with taking a decision. We must keep in mind that HIV infected people also have the right to life and personal liberty as enumerated in Article 21 of the Constitution. Based on this, they cannot be deprived of a dignified life. It has been established beyond doubt that HIV is not transmitted through air, food or water, and touch. So, the demand of the members of the office is absolutely unreasonable. Besides being unreasonable their demand is also unethical as instead of social ostracisation, the HIV affected must be supported in this time of personal crisis. Hence, any action against the HIV infected person is neither desirable nor legal. However, as a team lead, one has to maintain social cohesion in the team and try best to assuage any suspicion in the minds of the people. Hence the following steps are desirable:  One can start by explaining the employees that a diseased person is to be empathized with and definitely not to be hated. To substantiate one‟s arguments one can put forward few scientific researches in front of them to make them understand that they are not vulnerable to get infected.  In spite of the above if the employees persist with their stand then one can write to one‟s seniors apprising of the situation and requesting to arrange an alternative team with similar skill sets so that they can complete the task.  In the mean time one can pass an executive order that the complaining employees have no option but to work with the current setup. Besides strict disciplinary action will be taken against all those who fail to comply with official orders. 14

 In the mean time one can put all efforts to meet the deadline. One can try to organize medical educational camps to raise awareness.  To have a positive demonstrative effect, one can start by making the affected person sit next to oneself. 15

CASE 9 During your election duty you caught hold of a vehicle full of cash. On inquiry, it was revealed to you that the vehicle belongs to a very popular politician of the region and even the exit polls are predicting his victory. The politician calls you up to release the vehicle. You try to approach your senior to seek advice but can't reach him. a) What are the options available to you? b) What course of action will you take? ANSWER The election officer is under tremendous pressure from a popular politician who is interfering in his duties. This situation depicts an administrative challenge where the officer has to find a suitable way out to perform his actions without challenging the politician‟s authority. The following course of action is in front of him: As the officer‟s senior is not approachable the onus of decision making lies on the officer itself. a) Directly refusing the politician to accept his orders: As a subordinate it is the duty of the officer to obey his superiors in administrative setup, but until the commands do not deviate him from his sense of duty and consciousness. As the politician has asked him to perform an action away from his line of duty, refusing him will show his uprightness and honesty. However, this abrupt and rash behaviour can create ripples in the organization which can disrupt its working at such crucial time. b) Accepting politician‟s orders: Blindly accepting politician‟s orders will show the officer in bad light in front of his juniors as well as public. Not only has the officer to perform his duties honestly but also has to make sure that the organization‟s public image should not be tarnished. Also it is important to boost up the morale of the subordinates to perform the action with clear conscious; otherwise it will encourage malpractices in the organization. c) The best course of action would be to explain to the politician that the money caught during the raid has been deposited in the government security and only a written order can help him retrieve the money packets. Also reason with the politician that it is very difficult to save oneself from „media glare‟ and any such act will tarnish the image of the politician as well as the organization at large. 16

CASE 10 You are leading a survey team that has been assigned to carry out environmental impact assessment of a project proposed in a Naxal area. Members have been allotted a remote village each to conduct surveys and ascertain the response of residents. You are responsible not to disclose the identity of the villagers. During the review of survey findings you find some responses that are contradictory. You accompany the concerned surveyor to that village next day for verification. You carry ground check from the list of respondents and ask them for clarification of the response they had given earlier. Some of them seem awestruck and even deny any knowledge of the survey being conducted, you try to verify this from other residents of the village who were also surveyed and get similar replies. This raises serious doubts about the veracity of the survey process. 1. What are the ethical issues involved in the situation? 2. As a team leader accountable for the credibility of the survey and working on a hard time frame, what are the possible options before you? List their merits and demerits. 3. Giving reasons, state the course of action you would follow. ANSWER 1. The respondents backtracking from their earlier responses point to certain possibilities:  They might be intimidated by the Naxals to not cooperate with the entire exercise.  The survey process was not done comprehensively. Therefore, only a few villagers knew about it.  The concerned survey official has distorted the facts. As a team leader one must review the survey data while also ensuring that the overall purpose of any social impact assessment is fulfilled by properly educating the villagers of its potential benefits in the future. THE ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVED ARE:  Falsification of data by surveyors that defeats the very purpose of the entire exercise.  Integrity of the concerned official.  Accountability of the team leader in ensuring the credibility of the survey. 17

2. As a team leader accountable for the entire process, the possible course of action is:  Redo the survey in the concerned village under the personal supervision and also with the help of police forces to tackle any Naxal threat. This may instil confidence in the villagers to overcome their fear and give true responses. However, fearing Naxal backlash in the future they may still not cooperate. Thus, an unnecessary administrative cost and time would be wasted.  Extrapolate responses of other villages and publish the report. Villages may exist in similar conditions in the area and doing the above will save valuable time. But such assumption goes against the very spirit of conducting a survey that treats every village as unique.  Pressurize the surveyor to reveal the true fact. This process will be applicable only in the case where the official might be lying. Else it would lower the overall morale of the entire team. Also request higher authorities to send a new team with credibility and efficiency.  Report the matter to higher officials and seek their advice. Experienced seniors may provide valuable inputs. However, this is time taking and it also represents a tendency of dereliction of duty. 3. I would inform the higher officials of the discrepancy and keep it on record. First, I would ask the surveyor to explain the discrepancy and would try to verify through cross- questioning. Upon verification, I would request the District Magistrate to provide police protection to the area during the survey and also alert local intelligence to collect ground information of Naxals trying to contact villagers. I would then try to persuade the villagers of full government support while keeping the District Magistrate in confidence. Thus the survey would be redone and the costs involved would be reported based on all recorded official communications and expenses. 18

CASE 11 Ramesh, once a struggling theatre artist was accused and later freed from rape charges, which the jury found out to be ill conceived and wrongly targeted. Not able to handle the situation, he changed profession and moved on. Many years later, while his closest friends know about the incident, his co-workers do not. One day, out of curiosity, he surfs his personal records on the internet, and to his surprise, finds that the results reflect an old report in a local newspaper about the rape charges he faced. Ramesh is upset; after all these years, he would like to be able to disclose the event only to whomever he wants. He has been informed about the decision of the European Court of Justice, which allows individuals to submit requests to a search engine to remove certain results from searches on their names, and citing the same, requests the search engine and media outlet to remove the results. Valid arguments can be advanced for making the „Right to be Forgotten‟ a fundamental right? What those arguments could be? What limitations, if any, can it be subjected to? Should there be any obligations on the search engines regarding cases, which are no longer relevant, as the one mentioned above? ANSWER The issues involved in the above case are:  The right to a life with dignity of an individual who has been absolved of all the charges in the past.  The responsibility of internet search engines to present unbiased information even of past events while not infringing the right to privacy of an individual.  Fear of Ramesh to be dragged into his past on disclosure of facts through internet and his right to be forgotten.  The application of extra-territorial laws in India.  The tendency in Indian society to stereotype individuals based on distorted facts or through misinterpretation of facts. Based on the above mentioned issues, arguments can be presented to make Right to be forgotten a fundamental right. However, infringement of fundamentals right rests on actions by individuals or by the state. Thus, no action can be taken for stereotyping, hatred or biasness. Also for legal 19

recording and for administrative purposes in future, records of settled cases must remain in the public domain. Further people under Right to Information can easily extract such information when they require doing so. Thus internet can't be barred from providing information. However, in settled cases, they can add this information along with related data so that anyone who surfs for the information must have full information on any incident. But in his private capacity, Ramesh can apply to the government for making the above changes with respect to page authors or search engines. 20

CASE 12 Ramesh is working as a clerk in Collector‟s office. Due to staff shortage, Ramesh also performs the task of raising flag over the office building every morning and taking it down every evening, although it is not part of his official job description. One day a criminal turned politician Madan Puri dies. Years ago, Ramesh‟s best friend was murdered during a riot allegedly orchestrated by Madan Puri. Nonetheless, State secretariat passes an order to all District collectors, to keep National flag at “half-mast” over their offices, to mourn the death of the Mr. Madan Puri. Ramesh sees this news on TV, gets angry with such mockery of our national flag. He decides not to go to office next morning and keeps the door key of rooftop with himself. He is confident, “no formal punishment can be given to me, because this was not part of my official duty. At most, the Collector will reprimand me informally but I don‟t care because Madan Puri killed my best friend.” Do you think Ramesh has made the right decision? Why? ANSWER Ramesh made a wrong decision because:  It prevents other staff members from carrying out the „official‟ order from State HQ.  It puts his boss in an embarrassing position in front of the State HQ.  If Ramesh‟s conscience doesn‟t permit him carrying out a task, he should inform his boss. But running away with keys, without informing anyone is irresponsible.  Such behaviour is not expected from a good team player a public servant. 21

CASE 13 You are the Managing Director of a multinational company that prides on hiring people from diverse backgrounds. The company also chooses multiple projects under Corporate Social Responsibility that are geared towards social inclusion and empowerment of vulnerable sections of the society. Miss „X‟ who works in your office tells you that she has been diagnosed with HIV. It happened due to malpractice by a medical practitioner who re-used a contaminated syringe that led Miss „X‟ to contract the disease. The company has strict policies about toleration and you ensure Miss „X‟ that she can continue with her job in the company without facing any form of discrimination. A few days after the revelation, Miss „X‟ angrily submits her resignation letter. She states that she has faced discrimination at the workplace every day after the revelation. Her colleagues are hesitant to eat lunch with her, they make sure they do not drink water from the same source and the females in the office comment on her marital status. She is also asked to sit separately during departmental discussions. She intends to sue the company for mental harassment. If she takes the step, the public image of the company will be maligned and its non-discriminatory policies will be questioned. The following are some suggested options for you to deal with the situation as a Managing Director of the company. Evaluate the merits and demerits of each of the options: (a) You accept her resignation and suggest a compensation package so that she refrains from suing the company. (b) You persuade her not to submit her resignation and transfer her to another department. (c) You ask her to continue with her job and take strict action against the colleagues who discriminated against her. Also, state (without necessarily restricting to the above options) your course of action, giving proper reasons. 22

ANSWER An employee is being socially discriminated at workplace and feels harassed to the extent that she wants to quit her job. In such a situation, the employer, on the one hand, has to address her grievances and, on the other, bring an attitudinal change about this sensitive issue amongst his colleagues. EVALUATION OF THE STATED OPTIONS a) If employer accepts her resignation and offers a compensation package, then there is a probability that Miss X will refrain from suing the company. However, it will not boost the morale or self- confidence of Mrs X which was lowered by her colleagues. Also, it will justify the balancing of unethical practices with monetary compensation. By doing this, the employer will set a wrong precedent and indirectly reinforce the practice of discrimination in the company. As a Managing Director, it is my duty to ensure that the employees have a conducive, non-discriminatory work environment. Accepting resignation will not be a right step in ensuring such work environment but an easy way out of this situation. Further, every time monetary compensation for such incidents will pose additional financial burden on the company. Thus, it is necessary to root out the cause of problem which is wrong attitude of people in company. b) If I persuade Miss X not to submit her resignation and transfer her to another department, it will ensure that she will remain in the company and not sue it. She will also not face her co-workers who have made her uncomfortable in the situation. However, there is no guarantee that her co- workers will not discriminate against her in another department. Moreover, by transferring her I will not eliminate the issue at hand, which is ensuring there is no workplace discrimination c) Taking strict action against her colleagues will send a right message and create deterrence against discriminatory practices in future. It will address the grievances of Mrs X and boost her confidence for the company‟s management. However, the managing director must seek explanation from her colleagues before taking strict action against them. There must be fairness in the decisions of management otherwise it will lower the morale of other employees. 23

COURSE OF ACTION Any course of action must comprehensively address all the aspects of the situation. The action must bring justice to Mrs X, send a right message to the employees and create a positive atmosphere in the company. • Ask Mrs X to continue with her job in the present department and ensure her of non-discriminatory work environment in future in the company. • Seek explanation from her colleagues who discriminated against her and take strict action against them. • I will also make it a point to socialize with her in the workplace, whenever feasible, to set an example for other worker. • Request the HR department to ensure through the code of conduct that there is no discrimination against HIV patients. Further, to bring attitudinal change in employees, the management of the company can undertake various activities such as: • Arrange lecture sessions and workshops for employees by NGOs working in the field of eliminating discriminations against HIV patients. • Undertake CSR activities for the welfare of HIV patients and involving company‟s employees in them. It will sensitize them about the people suffering from AIDS. Social discrimination against HIV patients should not be tolerated as they are already dealing with the health and financial pressures of contracting the disease. It is everyone‟s moral responsibility to destigmatize the disease and treat HIV patients normally. 24

CASE 14 Suresh is running an NGO to help street children. He receives government grant of Rs.2 lakh for a project to teach the “out of school” children, who work at tea-stalls, do boot-polishing etc. A year passes, but Suresh managed to utilize only 50,000 rupees from the grant. Despite his best efforts, he couldn‟t convince many poor children or their families to join his NGO‟s program. As per the grant rules, Suresh has to return all the unspent money back to government by the end of March 31st. But his colleague Ramesh suggests following: If we honestly return Rs.1.5 lakh back, then government officials will think we are amateur, ineffective NGOs and they‟ll substantially reduce our grant for next year or even worse- they‟ll not give us any project next time! We should take help of CA Ram Agarwal to manipulate our account books and show majority of the grant was utilized for education. Many other NGOs do the same thing- there is no problem – nobody will raise any objection, as long as we give 20% of the grant to SDM in charge of this project. Although it sounds unethical but we won‟t use this money for personal needs, we‟ll use it on street children only. Hence our act is fully ethical and moral. What should Suresh do with the money? ANSWER  “Because others are also doing it” – is never the valid justification to commit an unethical or criminal act.  Two wrongs don‟t make a right:  Manipulating account books to keep the grant money.  Bribing SDM to keep the grant money.  The shelf life of lie and deception is very low- especially when manipulating the account books – ask Ramalinga Raju, ex-chief of Satyam. Suresh was unable to use 75% of the grant money, it implies Suresh didn‟t try hard enough OR Government had exaggerated the amount of money required to educate the out of school children OR both. In any case, if Suresh keeps the unspent grant, government will continue pumping more money- other NGOs and the SDM will keep amassing wealth. Therefore, Suresh should return the unspent grant back to the government. 25

CASE 15 You are posted as the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) in a district. As the SDM it is your responsibility to conduct interviews and select a candidate for the post of an ASHA worker in the district. On the day you are conducting the interviews, you are approached by the MLA of the local constituency who asks you to choose a particular lady for this position by overlooking the other candidates. On checking her documents you find that she is eligible in all respects. The MLA implores that she should be given the post on compassionate grounds as her husband was a soldier who was martyred in a war. Some of the options to handle the situation could be as follows: (a) Ignore the MLA and proceed with the process of selection. (b) Speak to your superior and seek his guidance on the matter. (c) Appoint the lady to the post as it is a compassionate appointment. Also suggest other possible options. Evaluate each of these options and suggest the best course of action, giving reasons for it. ANSWER This is a delicate situation where two important values – compassion and objectivity – required in civil services are coming in conflict with each other. While one would be tempted to help the family of a martyr, an officer cannot be unfair to other candidates in such a situation. The evaluation of the given options is as follows: a) Ignore the MLA and proceed with the process of selection: In India, MPs and MLAs act as crucial media for unempowered citizenry to participate in local administration, address their grievances and receive genuine benefits from government. So, I will not completely ignore the MLA as it will be against the ethos of democracy. I will try to take him on board while taking decision. I will listen to what he has to say and will make him understand that the selection cannot be made without due process. I will explore if this post is reserved for appointment on compassionate grounds and proceed accordingly. If that is not the case I will make the MLA and the lady aware about other posts which are reserved for such an appointment. b) Speak to your superior and seek his guidance on the matter: Seeking the advice of senior officers is a good step as they have greater experience and clarity. However, in this case the advice rendered will have limited application. This will not be required as the right thing to do here would 26

be to follow the due process and rules in carrying out the procedure for selection of the post. The senior officer would advise one to do the same. Though, I would seek information from my superiors if any other posts reserved for compassionate appointment exist. c) Appoint the lady to the post as it is a compassionate appointment: To straightaway appoint the lady without following the due process of selection for the post will be a violation of the rules, despite the fact that she needs compassionate appointment. Appointing her would also be unfair to other candidates. Further, there might be other candidates with a similar situation who are trying to make it on the basis of their own abilities. So, this should not be done in any case. One should appoint the lady only if she is the most suitable candidate according to the criteria and after following the prescribed process of short-listing candidates. Best course of action would be as follows: Whether the position in question is reserved for compassionate appointment or not I would advise the MLA to make the lady apply as a candidate for the post. I would carry out the prescribed procedure to select the ideal candidate. In case she is unable to qualify as the most suitable candidate in the process, I would try and find out other vacancies for her in the government (especially positions reserved for compassionate appointment of spouses of martyrs). I would extend all my support to the lady to ensure that she gets a job at the earliest, by following the rules. It is to be noted that creating an exception in appointments will pave the way for future distortions in selection procedure of ASHA appointments. I would also like to enquire if the lady has any special needs (sickness of any family member, marriage of children etc.) In such a case I would help her out with appropriate provisions under the existing government schemes. 27

CASE 16 Sarbind is the inspector in charge of Rampur Police station. The police station building is in dire need of repairs, but hasn‟t received any grants for years. One day, a cyclone hits a nearby area, damaging most of the houses and shops. Although Sarbind‟s police station gets partially damaged, but most of the building remain intact . Government sends a disaster assessment team to ascertain the level of damage and pay relief money. The DSP Mr. Lal, orders Sarbind to do following: Hire some labourers and destroy the remaining parts of your police station building. When disaster assessment team comes, you tell them building collapsed by the cyclone, and ask them to give priority in funding after all police station is one the most important public offices in a town. Should Sarbind obey his boss‟s order? ANSWER The shelf life of lie and deception is very low, especially when many people are involved. In this case: laborers and any bystanders. Both Sarbind and Lal are risking themselves to an unnecessary negative publicity and possible departmental inquiry and punishment for professional misconduct. Indeed police building needed repairs and should have been given a grant months ago, but three wrongs don‟t make a right:  Wanton destruction of a public building.  Misleading the disaster assessment team.  Police officer Sarbind spending his time and energy in such activity rather than doing rescue- relief-patrolling duty after the disaster. 28

CASE 17 You are the officer in charge of a refugee settlement team in a multilateral humanitarian organization. There is an ethnic conflict in the nearby border area and as a result, many people are affected and displaced. The economically better-off neighbouring countries have accommodated the streams of migrants with financial support from your organization. The violence in the region has increased recently and the influx of people seeking refuge has grown exponentially. With countries following protectionist policies the refugees are left in a vulnerable situation. You are asked to represent the organization for the settlement of refugees with neighbouring countries, who also happen to be a powerful economic bloc. However, they refuse any more accommodation on the following grounds:  Drainage of resources in face of subdued economic conditions.  Domestic political repercussions.  Rehabilitation will encourage more influx.  Permanency of settlement in face of better prospects than at home. What are the counter-arguments that can be cited to convince the countries for an immediate solution? Suggest some long term measures as well that could be followed to address the problem. ANSWER As an officer overseeing refugee settlement related issues in a multilateral organisation, my immediate responsibility is to ensure a safe haven for all refugees and also ensure that they have access to basic needs i.e. food, clothing, shelter and also medical aid. In face of stiff opposition or reluctance by the countries to accept the immigrant refugees I would propose the following:  Continued financial support from the multinational organisation in resettlement and rehabilitation of the refugees. Being economically powerful they can absorb temporary economic shocks while continuing to fulfil their role as a responsible nation.  Utilize the inflow of refugees as cheap labour by providing them training and thus reap economic benefits of cheap labour. By refusing to accept refugees, they will be possibly presented in a bad light in the world by humanitarian organisations and civil activists. Economic factors like international trade are also 29

based on perception and credibility of sovereign nations. Thus, in the long run their international relations might get affected.  Assure them that the problem is only temporary and in the future following the restoration of peace the refugees will return to their homeland.  Cite examples of other nations who are also rehabilitating refugees. The problem though triggered by an immediate crisis, i.e., ethnic conflict, demands long-term solutions as it involves cost of life and livelihood, displacement and associated social tension, fragmentation and also inter-generational consequences. I would suggest certain long-term measures as:  Peacefully explore the permanent safe havens in other yet developing/Island nations with financial support from the organisation.  Explore the possibility of settling refugees in areas unaffected by the civil war (in the same country) so that on the restoration of peace they can be resettled back.  Starting negotiations with countries like Japan (with a predominant ageing population) to accept some refugees. They can also provide work visa for 10-15 years and also provide employment in the short term.  Support the country facing the ethnic conflict in its rehabilitation and resettlement efforts.  Highlight the refugee's issue at global forums, i.e., at the United Nations and seek assistance.  Use the internet and print media to raise awareness about the pitiable conditions of the refugees. 30

CASE 18 You are the CEO of a pharmaceutical company that has monopolized the manufacture of an anti-allergen device, which is used by millions who suffer from different kinds of allergic reactions: life threatening as well as non-threatening. Your company that was initially facing significant losses has increased the price of the device and since then has been witnessing huge profit margins. While the stakeholders of the company are pleased with your decision, there is a public backlash against the price rise. Politicians too have begun criticizing the policies of the company. (a) What are the ethical issues involved? (b) Enumerate the values that are under question in the mentioned scenario? (c) As the CEO of the company, would you retrospectively change your decision in light of the public backlash? Answer: (a) ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVED  Corporate greed versus general good: While the aim of the company is profit maximization, it is clashing with the needs of the society. The situation is more acute for people with severe allergies for whom the device is indispensable.  Monopoly v/s Competitive Pricing: Due to monopoly, the company increased the price of the device and reversed the trend of losses faced by it initially. However, a single firm acted as a price maker.  Ineffective regulatory mechanism: The situation reflects ineffectiveness of regulatory mechanisms, as there is lack of competition in a business and an instance of surge pricing by a single company against the interests of millions of citizens.  It is an example of an act which is legally right but not ethically right. (b) VALUES in question under the mentioned scenario are corporate greed, conflict of interest, ineffective monitoring, lack of empathy and lack of public accountability, among others. 31

(c) COURSE OF ACTION • As the CEO of the company, I am answerable to the stakeholders and my primary duty is to carry out their interests and increase profits of the company. • However, I also have a role in the society, wherein I am expected to evaluate the effects of my decisions on the public as a whole. • A monopoly on a product and several advantages attached with it should not lead me to ignore the needs of the majority of the population. • The situation tests my moral and humanitarian responsibilities as the device is a life-saver for people with severe allergies and my decisions will have direct, life altering consequences for them. • Assessing all the aspects and witnessing the public backlash against my decision, if I had to take the decision retrospectively, I would discuss the matter with the stakeholders of the company and would ensure that the price rise is only minimal to maintain minimum profit. • Additionally, with the board‟s permission, I would negotiate a deal with the government, wherein it could procure the device at our set price and then provide it at a subsidized rate to patients. 32

CASE 19 The Ebola outbreak in Nigeria has affected thousands of people in a short span of time and infected many others. There is no vaccine or treatment available to cure the disease. You are the head of the health department of one of the countries that have been severely hit by the epidemic. While there is no treatment currently available for the disease, an experimental drug is being used in some other country. This drug has shown positive results and consequently some of the patients have also managed to recover from the disease. However, it is not yet clear whether the relief came due to the drug alone, or otherwise. Given the high mortality rate of the disease and its rapid spread, other countries affected by this disease have already given a go-ahead for the mass production of this experimental drug. But some health experts are sceptical about the efficacy of the drug and have even warned against its use as it may result in some deadly side-effects. 1. Bring out and discuss the above case. 2. What would you do in the above situation? Give reasons. ANSWER 1. THE ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVED  Responsibility of the leader to make crucial decisions in a crisis situation even with the risks involved.  Right to medical treatment of affected persons.  Threat to life and likely side effects of the experimental drug and the opportunity cost of not taking the risk of trying the drug.  The veracity of the advice against the drug‟s use by health experts in face of some positive results of the drug effects from other countries.  Right of human being against medical experimentation in face of likely side effect hazards.  The responsibility of the state to protect its citizens from health hazards by investing in medical Research and development. 33

2. In the crisis situation the aim of any action taken must be  To protect the lives of as many people as possible.  To ensure that any medication doesn't have long-term hazards, i.e., it should not bypass long term effects just to have short term gains.  To prevent the spread of the disease by quarantining the affected persons to remote and secure locations. Thus, I would take the following measures:  Call an urgent meeting of health experts to discuss the drug, the positive results and also discuss the measures to contain the disease.  Based on their recommendations, I would raise awareness among people through the media who would themselves undertake precautionary measures at the individual level.  I would consult if the drug can be tested on patients in their terminal stage while also taking the consent of their family and giving financial compensation in case of death. Thus, I would try to get the drug tested. In case of positive results, I would ask doctors to administer the drug gradually and record all the symptoms. In case of any harmful symptom, I will stop its use.  Meanwhile, I would send a health expert team to the other country where the drug tested positive to study and verify how it worked.  In case of drug failing at experimenting stage, my efforts would be directed to check the spread of disease while ensuring all medical support to affected patients. 34

CASE 20 Keshav is working as an under Secretary in the pension department. One day, his friend Guru Dutt, an SBI PO, narrates following incident: “For last two years, a retired Government employee Mr. Ashok Kumar is giving away 30% of his monthly pension to Mrs. Bindu Chopra every month through cheque. I found Mrs. Bindu Chopra happens to be the wife of Mr. Sahil Chopra, a section officer in the pension office under you (Keshav). I feel something is fishy- may be this is part of a large bribe scam where senior citizens are forced to pay money to clear their pension files from Sahil Chopra, and have to submit bribes in his wife‟s account.” Keshav visits Mr. Ashok Kumar‟s house but he is suffering from Alzheimer‟s disease, unable to give coherent answers. Frustrated Keshav directly confronts Sahil Chopra. But Sahil says “Mr.Ashok Kumar was a friend of my father. He has no relatives or children and my wife Bindu has been taking care of him like daughter since a long time. Therefore, Mr. Ashok Kumar gives us money out of good will, so we can send our son to an expensive IIT coaching class at Kota, Rajasthan. Besides this is a personal family matter and none of your damn business.” Do you think Keshav made a blunder or was he merely performing an ethical duty? ANSWER Here, both Guru Dutt and Keshav have failed to act in responsible manner. Because:  A banker must keep his clients‟ data confidential, unless required by the law to disclose it.  Guru Dutt didn‟t even wait to cross verify who else is giving money to Mrs. Bindu Chopra‟s account. Because if there was a „large scale bribe scam‟ then a lot other senior citizens would be making payment to Bindu‟s account, and not just Mr. Ashok Kumar alone.  Even in that situation, Guru Dutt had to consult his boss within his own bank first. He cannot go around giving informal tips to outsiders. This is an unethical act for a banker.  Keshav too acted in hasty manner. First, he starts „investigation‟ based on an informal tip from a banker who is not supposed to tip him in the first place. He should have consulted the vigilance department before moving further. 35

 Second, Keshav confronts Sahil Chopra, without any hardcore evidence. When you‟re holding a public office, you can‟t go around accusing people in such haste. It breaks the office discipline, destroys the staff morale and allows the guilty person to cover his tracks. 36

CASE 21 You are SP of a district where the use of drugs is prevalent, especially among the youth. The neighbouring districts are also suffering from the same problem. There is a huge hue and cry in the national media about the drug issue and the government and political parties are pressurising the police and district administration to act on the issue. A big deal of drugs is busted by the police in your area and all the culprits have been arrested. However, even before you reach your office, a minister from the ruling party of the state calls and asks you to release few of the culprits. You have long suspected the role of many senior leaders in this drug menace of the state. You have also been informed by your juniors that a few officers who dared to act against people involved in drug dealings were transferred or suspended on wrong charges earlier. 1. Identify the options available to you. 2. Evaluate the pros and cons of each of your options. ANSWER FACTS OF THE CASE • Drug menace is a prevalent in the society and there is huge pressure on the administration to act. • A deal of drugs was busted and criminals caught. • There is an informal demand from the minister to release some of those caught. The STAKEHOLDERS OF THE CASE are SP himself, his department, the political dispensation (the minister) and the pressure groups – media and society at large. The ETHICAL ISSUES INVOLVED in the case: • Responsibility to act against a social menace. • Public service values and maintaining integrity of the office prone to political influence. • Consequences of actions and inactions which have the potential to change discourse. • Political corruption and nexus between leaders and criminals. Options available and their evaluation 37

1. Follow the minister‟s instructions: Merits: a) Potential personal gain for the SP by virtue of being a „Yes Man‟ to the minister. By not following the order he can be transferred or even suspended on wrong charges. b) Only some culprits will be released – the media and society can be shown the „successes‟ of administration in catching others. Demerits: a) Shows lack of courage to act against the real culprits. Catching the „small fish‟ is just a face-saving exercise. b) The real problem of drugs will still continue unabated, with lives of youth destroyed. 2. Ask the minister to send his order in writing: Merits: This will give the demand a formal character of request. It will carry more legitimacy and this could be held up against the minister if questions arise later. Moreover, there may be a possibility that the culprits in question were secret government moles, as is frequent in such cases, who helped bust the racket. Demerit: Chance of a written order is less and the SP may face retribution for not „falling in line‟. 3. Go to the media with the bust and also reveal political pressure to release some: Merits: It may create a significant political pressure on the ruling party to take action on the minister. It may also lead to an enquiry committee regarding the nexus between politicians and criminal groups. Demerits: It may remain limited to mere sensationalization and nothing concrete happens. As SP doesn‟t have enough proof to present his case, and he is not aware about the extent of the political involvement, instead of exposing the entire racket this option may invite the wrath of the state. 4. Go ahead with the arrest: Merits: It shows courage to do what is right and necessary to deal with situation. It also shows integrity of the officer and commitment to duty. Demerits: Chance of a written order is less and the SP may face retribution for not „falling in line‟. 38

The Best Course of Action will be a combination of option 2 and 4, i.e. asking the minister to give request in writing, with reasons of the demand, and if that is not obliged, go ahead with the arrest. Meanwhile, I will continue my investigation and will gather evidences against all the stakeholders of the drug trade. Further, as a law enforcement officer, my duty lies in preventing all the illegal practices. My allegiance lies to the constitution and laws duly framed, not to the whims of any person, howsoever powerful he/she may be. 39

CASE 22 Sahil, a civil society activist, has launched a mass-movement to change Prime-ministerial form of government to presidential form of government. Rahil is an undersecretary in the PMO. Before joining civil service, he had done Ph.D on the demerits of presidential form of government. He is invited by a news channel for prime-time debate. The news channel anchor, Mr. Arnab Goswami assures Rahil following:  It‟ll be only an educational-intellectual debate among scholars.  No politicians from ruling or opposition party are invited in our show.  You‟re invited in your capacity as a scholar in political science and not as a bureaucrat. Should Rahil accept Arnab Goswami‟s invitation for news-debate? ANSWER No, because bureaucrats should not voice their opinion about political matters on public platform. Even if no politician is invited, some other scholar/participant/anchor might raise points in favour or against the ruling party during the debate, and Rahil will find himself in a political minefield. 40

CASE 23 You are the Station House Officer of a police station. Recently, there has been a spurt in theft incidents in your area. Some of these incidents have occurred even during daytime. The Resident Welfare Association (RWA) has blamed the labourers, residing in night shelters for the crimes. The night shelters are the result of an initiative by the police to help the homeless people to seek refuge from the biting cold at night. You have taken great pain to get these night-shelters up and running. The record of all those who stay in these night shelters, for instance, their names and identity proofs, are with the police. But the police have no information if any one of them has a criminal record. Even as an investigation regarding the thefts is going on, the RWA members are demanding that these night shelters be dismantled and the labourers be driven away from their homes. 1. What are the options available to you? 2. Evaluate each option and suggest the best course of action. ANSWER 1. As the Station House Officer of a police station, which is also the custodian of the night shelter, the options available are: (i) Dismantle the night shelters as per the demands of the Residents Welfare Association. (ii) Persuade the members to wait for the investigation reports before taking any decisive action. (iii) Provide additional security in the affected area to assuage their discontent. (iv) Summon all the labourers and threaten them of eviction if they don't give the information they have of the thefts. (v) Ignore the demands and continue with the investigation. (vi) In the long run seek the cooperation of the welfare association to strengthen the security arrangement of the area and also suggest the local urban development office or municipality to install CCTV cameras. 41

2. EVALUATION OF THE OPTIONS Option (i) would provide immediate relief, but in absence of any conclusive evidence it will be injustice to the displaced. Also the entire community cannot be punished for the wrongs of a few (even if it is later proved that some of shelter inmates are involved). Option (ii) is difficult to achieve in view of the opposition, but it is desirable and also legal. Option (iii) is not legal, but permissible if any link exists of the involvement of some of the labourers in the recent theft. However, the threat should be exercised only on prime suspect and must be limited to investigation. Option (iv) is legally correct but morally wrong for a Station House Officer, one's responsibility is also to address the genuine concerns of residents and keep the credibility of police intact. Option (v) is applicable in the long run once the case is solved. COURSE OF ACTION Since no conclusive evidence is available against the labourers, no legal action can be taken against them. One should begin an investigation immediately and till then take recourse to option (ii) i.e. talking with the association members and providing additional security to them. Once the case is solved the long run measures will be implemented. 42

CASE 24 To curtail the mounting fiscal deficit, Finance Minister Chidambram decides to merge agriculture ministry with forest ministry; coal ministry with oil ministry and reduce personnel in the central services by 30%. But opposition party is hardly raising any objection –they are occupied with onion price rise issue. Media is too busy covering MS Dhoni‟s new hairstyle. Vineet, an employee in the Cabinet secretariat feels both Opposition party and media have failed to perform their ethical duty to inform citizens about matters of public interest. Therefore, he starts writing anonymous blogs and tweets to inform public about the negative consequences of Chidambram‟s austerity measures. Is Vineet doing the right thing? ANSWER No. Vineet is not doing the right thing. Role of public servant is to obey the will of the community- articulated through the elected members including the said Finance Minister. Public servant has to remain politically neutral. Vineet is crossing that line by his anonymous blogs. 43

CASE 25 You are an undergraduate student in a leading Law University. You go with your college friend Surender to his village to attend his sister's marriage. Surender‟s parents are farmers and are financially very poor. They have somehow managed to send him to the university by selling their land. After interaction with the family relatives attending the marriage, you find out that the bride is not of marriagable age, which makes it a case of child marraige. The family wants early marriage of the daughter to avoid huge demands of dowry in the future. You are well aware that child marriage is illegal in India. So, you discuss the issue with your friend who says that he is helpless and can‟t do anything. Your friend feels that his family is already doing too much for him and he cannot argue and change his parents‟ decision. In this situation, what are the possible actions you can take? Evaluate the merits and demerits of each of them. ANSWER The given situation is of child marriage in a village where every person in family feels their hands are tied due to some reason. However, being aware of this social illness and that child marriage is illegal in India; I cannot allow it to happen. There are several options available to stop this event such as 1. PERSUADE THE FAMILY WITH THE HELP OF SURENDER Firstly, the dilemma of Surender needs to be cleared. He must be told that it is his responsibility to tell parents about the implications of child marriage. Further, his hard earned education will be of no use if he cannot save his little sister from orthodox, outdated social traditions – dowry and child marriage. Once Surender is convinced, we both can persuade the parents through following arguments: • Making them aware that the child marriage is illegal and it is similar to destroying theirs beloved daughter‟s whole life • Removing theirs primary apprehension of dowry demands by telling them that is illegal practice. • Encouraging them to make their daughter educated and skilled. It will make her independent and then she would be able to choose her best partner herself. Citing some successful women will be useful • The sister‟s education expenditure can be met by Surendar‟s earning from job in near future If this persuasion gets successful in stopping the marriage from happening then there is apparently no demerit in this action. 44

2. BRINGING THE MATTER INTO THE NOTICE OF LOCAL PANCHAYAT However, if the parents do not get convinced and still holds the event, then the local leaders from panchayat can be informed. Merits: • The panchayat can create social pressure on the family to stop the marriage • It will serve as an important example to bring social change in the community Demerits: • The family may not abide by the panchayat‟s persuasion and will also bring the personal matters into society • The parents and friend may get angered on me and may also threaten me 3. REGISTERING THE COMPLAINT WITH THE POLICE However if still they decide to hold marriage, the FIR should be registered with police station. Merits: • The most important objective was to stop child marriage from happening will be achieved • The case will act as deterrence against future practices of child marriage in local area Demerits: • It will bring whole family into the criminal proceeding which will hamper the education of both the children. • This could further push the family into deep poverty which was the primary reason for child marriage. COURSE OF ACTION So, instead of removing the root cause, this solution will be superficial in nature. On evaluating all the above scenarios, I must persuade the family by all means to stop the child marriage from happening. In this process, we can involve all educated and reform oriented relatives and local people. The registering of police complaint should be avoided till all options are exhausted because it has huge repercussion on the family and lives of brother and sister. 45

CASE 26 Rajan has been serving as the Chief Fire Officer in city for over 3 years. Because of his efficient management, there were very few fire incidents, no lives were lost and property damage was minimum. He enjoys almost a celebrity like status in local media and city dwellers. As the election year comes, Mayor Sanjay, with an aim to garner goodwill among voters, frames a budget with 10% pay raise to fire brigade staff and 25% pay raise for the Chief Fire Officer. Should Rajan accept it or not? Why? ANSWER  Fire-fighting is a team work. Team leader must display fairness and equity.  If Rajan accepts 25% raise, it could promote his image as an aloof, insensitive, self-serving boss. Staff may not follow his lead with same enthusiasm afterwards.  Exemplary leadership is critical to encouraging ethical behaviour in government organizations.  Therefore, Rajan should not accept more than what is being offered to other employees of Fire brigade. (10%). 46

CASE 27 Vineet, the bank employee, approaches Bank Manager Rakesh and says following: “My child is suffering from blood cancer. I don‟t have health insurance policy and my salary is insufficient to meet these medical expenses. But over the years, I‟ve been collecting autographed bats and balls of various cricketers. I seek your permission to hold a charity auction in the office. I‟ll also send fliers to clients of our bank. Everyone is welcome to bid for these bats and balls, so I can raise money for the medical treatment of my child.” Three other bank employees-Prem Kapoor, Madan Puri and Ranjith overhear this conversation. They also inform Rakesh – indeed Vineet‟s financial situation is very bad and his child will die if the treatment is not done on time, therefore permission should be given to hold this charity auction. Should Rakesh give permission? ANSWER No. Because some members may informally feel pressured to give money -Especially Vineet‟s juniors and subordinates. It might create a feeling of alienation between employees who bid and those who don‟t. Next time another employee will try to do the same, may be with a trivial reason e.g. I‟m willing to auction t-shirts autographed by film stars to repay the last EMI of my home loan, allow me to hold auction in the office. And if Rakesh says no that time, it might create an impression Rakesh is biased towards certain employees- staff morale goes down. Therefore, it is best to keep auctions and other money raising activities out of the workplace irrespective of their noble aims. 47

CASE 28 In a district, in which you are posted as a District Magistrate, a teacher molests a child in a government run school. As the news of this crime spreads, the parents, relatives and locals gather at the school. The culprit teacher has meanwhile fled. The police arrest the Principal of the school and assure the crowd that the culprit would be arrested soon. The crowd, however, has gone berserk and begins to damage the school building. It wants immediate arrest of the culprit and is not ready to budge until he is arrested. (a) Is it correct to take the Principal into custody when he has personally not committed the crime? Support your answer with appropriate reasons. (b) What options do you have in dealing with the crowd? Enumerate the merits and demerits of each and also suggest the best possible option. (c) In the capacity of District Magistrate what would be your long term plan to prevent molestations and rapes in the schools? ANSWER (a) The Principal can be taken into custody for preliminary investigation. If it is established that principal had made required investigation about the teachers‟ credentials before appointing them and necessary arrangements to prevent such crime, then he is not liable for an act done by a member of his staff, since no one can take guarantee of the acts of another human being. Though, he can own a moral responsibility but is not liable to be arrested to sooth the collective conscience of the public. If wilful dereliction in appointment and security measures is evident, then he should be arrested for abetting the crime. 48

(b) The options available in dealing with the crowd are: 1. Use of force to disperse the crowd and arrest the arsonists. Merits: Public is taking law into its own hands by passing judgment and deciding the punishment. This is against the rule of law. Hence, District Magistrate will be performing his constitutional duty by upholding the rule of law. Also, he will be saving the school building. Its damage will cost the public exchequer and jeopardize the education of children of the school. Demerits: This is an emotional issue for the people and using force on them will be insensitive. It may also result in counter attack from crowd in an emotionally charged atmosphere, putting both my men and crowd in grave danger. 2. Assuring the crowd of arresting the culprit and warning them of strict action in case of further violence. Merits: It will help in becalming the crowd and save use of force and further escalation of violence. It will uphold the rule of law. The filing of FIR against rioters would act as deterrent force against future violence. Demerits: This option does not have any apparent demerits. Thus the best course of action would be to send a strict warning to crowd that they should stop rioting. Send the search teams to arrest the culprit and inform the crowd about all possible efforts being taken including the interrogation of the principal and other staff. Administration should be in constant interaction with all the stakeholders and abreast them with all the developments. Meanwhile, the premises of the school should be guarded and anybody trying to harm it be arrested. Further, the crowd should be informed about the long terms plans that are going to be implemented very soon so that no such untoward incident occurs in future. 49

(c) Following long term action plan should be taken to prevent rapes and molestations in schools: • Issue guidelines about compulsory checks to be made by school authorities in appointing the teaching and non-teaching staff of the schools. Failure to comply with them will be made liable to punishment/fine. • Random surveys of school by the officials to see that they have necessary infrastructure like appropriate lightning, separate toilets for male and female children and the staff etc. • Sensitivity training and training of ethics and morality for the staff. Making them aware of the penal provisions for sexual crimes. • Parents and teachers to make children aware about the differences between affectionate touching/loving and sexual overtures. • Asking parents to encourage their children of reporting any uncomfortable incident so that remedial action can be taken beforehand. • Sensitizing the administration towards such cases and cultivating a pro-active and zero tolerance attitudes towards such acts. • Creating a website or mobile app for parents and teachers to report any untoward incident so that spontaneous action is taken up. 50