Morality and Politics
In India Ethics and Morality is inseparable since ancient times. This ethical and
moral legacy was inherited by our national leaders during freedom struggle; they
demonstrated a high degree of probity and honesty in public life. Mahatma Gandhi
not only preached morality in public life but also practiced it. He believed that
politics without morality is a thing to be avoided.
However, in recent years there is a general feeling that all is not well with the Indian
political system which is functioning under great strain. Concerns are being
expressed over the general decline of values in public life. Recent trends in politics,
however, appear to have created an impression as if; the capacity of our democratic
system to ensure probity in public life is increasingly going down. Such a situation
does not augur well for the future of democracy and needs to be arrested
immediately.
Members of Parliament as people’s representatives are looked at by the people as
their role models and the ones who are guiding their destiny, have, therefore, to be
beyond the realm of any kind of suspicion. There should be the ideological base and
the spirit of service activated in them. The probity in the entire system should be
ensured.
There may be many ways for ensuring probity in public life, but a self-disciplining
mechanism, appears to be the best in an institution like Parliament.
Shri N.N. Vohra Committee:
On 9 July, 1993 this committee was appointed to examine charges of corruption
involving politicians and general perception of criminalization of politics. In 1995,
report was laid before both Houses of Parliament.
The Committee in its report, inter alia, pointed out that “the nexus between the
criminal gangs, police, bureaucracy and politicians” had come out clearly in various
parts of the country. The existing criminal justice system, which was essentially
designed to deal with the individual offences/crimes, was unable to deal with the
activities of the mafia; the provisions of law in regard to economic offences were
found to be weak and there were insurmountable legal difficulties in
attaching/confiscating the properties acquired through mafia activities.
The report suggested setting up of a nodal agency under the Ministry of Home
Affairs, Government of India, to be handled directly by the Union Home Secretary,
who would be assisted by one or more selected officers of the Ministry for the
collation and compilation of all information received from different intelligence
agencies.
All-Party Meeting, 1995 declaration of assets and liabilities by the Members
of Parliament and Ministers:
1. Setting up of a Parliamentary Committee on Ethics as distinct from the Committee
of Privileges which would act as a guardian on the activities of members of
Parliament.
2. Adoption of a Code of Conduct at the level of political parties to ensure a cleaner
public life, e.g., not to give party tickets to persons having criminal record.
3. All political parties should have open audited accounts which must be published
annually.
4. Giving more teeth to the Nodal Group set up as a consequence of the
recommendations of the Vohra Committee Report.
5. Changes in the legal system, simplification of the procedure and dispensation of
quick justice.
Birth of Ethics Committee:
General Purposes Committee of Rajya Sabha in 1997 authorized the Chairman,
Rajya Sabha to constitute an Ethics Committee with a mandate to oversee the moral
and ethical conduct of its members. Thus, the Ethics Committee, Rajya Sabha, the
first such Committee by any legislature in India was constituted by the Chairman,
Rajya Sabha on 4 March 1997, to oversee the moral and ethical conduct of the
Members and to examine the cases referred to it with reference to ethical and other
misconduct of Members. It was provided that in all respects of procedure and other
matters, the rules applicable to the Committee of Privileges shall apply to the Ethics
Committee with such variations and modifications as the Chairman, Rajya Sabha
may, from time to time, make.
Ethics Committee, Rajya Sabha consists of ten members, including its Chairman,
who are nominated by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha. Chairman of the Committee is
from the largest party in the House. Other members normally are the Leaders,
Deputy Leaders/Chief Whips of their parties/groups in Rajya Sabha.
Some Techniques in Ethical Analysis of
Case Studies
Ethical analysis tries to identify the participating parties, their respective stakes and
responsibilities, and the essential issues. After this groundwork is in place, various
ethical guidelines (rules of conduct) and principles (philosophical systems) are
applied to the problem. Most discussion revolves around understanding the intent of
the guidelines and principles when applied to a particular case.
When addressing an ethical dilemma or a case study, try to answer these
questions:
1. What is the ethical issue? Is something morally wrong? Is the issue deeper than
personal or institutional concerns?
2. Who are the involved parties (the people and the organizations affected)? Who
has an important stake in resolving the issue?
3. What are the obligations between the parties?
Fidelity (a promise or a contract)
Reparation (making up for a wrong)
Gratitude (thanking for a right)
Justice (comparative merit)
Beneficence (helping a deserving person)
Non-injury (avoiding harm)
4. What would each party consider to be the preferred course of action?
5. Generate several courses of action (at least three, two extremes and a
compromise). Identify broad filters which might constrain the choice of options for
action.
6. For any choice of action, determine the impact on each of the parties:
a. Are any ethical guidelines violated?
b. What are the best-case and worst-case outcomes? Are they tolerable?
c. What benefits and harm will be caused? Does the good outweigh the possible
harm?
d. Are there rules or principles which invalidate a choice of actions?
e. List the consequences, risks, and costs.
7. Choose a course of action, and identify which philosophical system it aligns with:
Ethical egoism
Utilitarianism
Human Rights
Ethical Relativism
Fairness and social justice
Common good
8. Which alternative actions produce the best overall consequences? Which respect
the moral rights and dignity of all parties? Which treat people fairly, without
favoritism or discrimination? Which advance the common good? Which develop
moral values? Which recognize the cultural context? Which are the most consistent?
9. Do different ethical systems generate different courses of action? Are there issues
to which none of the ethical systems apply? Which system is most compelling for
resolving the particular issue?
10. Finally make a clear and definitive decision about a course of action. Suggest
policy changes which will prevent the problem from recurring.
Summary of Ethical Analysis
1. Specify the FACTS.
2. Define the DILEMMA.
3. Identify the PARTIES and their interests.
4. Clarify the VALUES and PRINCIPLES at stake.
5. Formulate the possible ACTIONS.
6. Identify the potential CONSEQUENCES.
7. Make a clear DECISION.
Questions on Ethics and Human Interface
Notice- I have seen the sample paper which is given by UPSC. After GOOGLING i
found these questions. I am not sure these will be asked. But for practice you can
use this if you want. You should ask your mentor/teacher about these questions and
please inform me what they said. In my view this is a new subject so questions
would be not so hard and twisting this year. Well we should be prepared for any
circumstances. I think you guys should strong yours theoretical part so you would
be able to solve any practical PROBLEM. All the best]
1. Answer any two the following in about 250 words each: ( 2×25)
(i)
“When in Rome do as Romans do”? – Explain it in the context of ethical
relativism.
(ii)
Honest, upright, law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear from the
distribution of their personal data.” Do you agree or not? Give at least three reasons
for your position and one reasonable objection to it.
(iii)
State the differences between deontological theories and teleological
theories of moral reasoning.
2. Answer the following in about 150 words each: ( 5×10)
(i)
State two problems with consequentialist theories.
(ii)
What are the two main kinds of deontological theory?
(iii)
Explain the positive and negative concept of liberty?
(iv)
Name and describe the theories of right action.
(v)
What is moral autonomy?
3.Discuss the statements. You should include different and supported point of view
and personal point of view. (10×10)
(i)
“Children are a gift not a right”.
(ii)
“Religious people should never be wealthy.”
(iii)
“Justice is more important than peace.”
(iv)
“It is better to starve than to earn money immorally.”
(v)
“If Hinduism is right, all religion must be wrong.”
(vi)
“You should always stand up for unjust government.”
(vii)
“We can treat animals in any ways we wish”
(viii)
“Only god has the right to take the life.”
(ix)
“It is duty of religious people to encourage contraception to avoid world
become overpopulated.”
(x)
“Putting people into prison is waste of money”.
4.Globalization raises many concerns in terms of market failure and sustainable
development. Discuss.(25)
5.Define ethics and emphasize its need to the contemporary society.(25)
When in Rome, do as the
Romans do
Sometimes we say, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” implying that this sort of
acting is morally correct. We can call views of this sort Cultural Ethical Relativism
(CER).
According to views of this sort: Moral appraisals are essentially dependent upon the
standards that define a particular moral code, the practices and norms accepted by a
social group at a specific place and time.
It implies, among other things, that:
* “Right” means “socially approved by a give culture or society.”
* We should choose moral principles by following what our society approves of.
* Such terms as “obligatory”, “required”, forbidden”, “good”, “bad”, “virtuous”, etc.
can be defined in an analogous way.
One can support this because:

Morality is a product of culture and nothing which is such a product can be
objective or universal.

Cultures and societies disagree widely about morality.

It is simply good when we have a variety of cultures
One can be against this because:

It is hard to define a culture. Without such definition, we do not know
what CER implies.

Sometimes an action takes place within more than one society. In such a
case, would an act be right or wrong or neither or what?

If it is true, then moral decisions are either too easy or too difficult.

If it is true, then moral progress or reform is impossible. Also, we cannot
learn from other cultures.
Thus, Ethical Relativism holds that each situation must be judged according to its
own merits, and that universal standards cannot be applied to judge the morality of
a decision. A relativist believes in ‘when in Rome do as the Romans do’.
Honest, upright, law-abiding
citizens have nothing to fear
from the distribution of their
personal data.” Do you agree
or not? Give at least three
reasons for your position and
one reasonable objection to
it.
Information considered as personal is financial, medical and national identity related
information.
Article 21 of the constitution guarantees every citizen the fundamental right to
personal liberty which includes right to privacy and by extension private data not
available in public domain. This right extends to data in electronic forms and
information technology act 2000 in which there is a provision of punishment for
violation of privacy, so it facilitates protection of such data.
Since independence broad technological changes have taken place. The ability of
organizations to collect, store and process personal data has increased. Not many
digital technologies are designed to obtain detailed logs of their usage by individuals,
which are then accessible for surveillance and marketing purposes.
Online activities are particularly closely monitored. Even where users are not
required to provide personal data when accessing services on the Internet,
individuals can be identified through the Internet Protocol (IP) address of their
computer, and often through digital ‘cookies’ or electronic identifiers left on their
browser by Web sites.
Internet communication and browsing tends to leave logs of Web pages visited,
email and instant message senders and recipients, voice over IP callers, goods
examined and purchased, advertisements viewed and searches.
What is more, this development is widespread, not only on the Internet. Cameras
are used for surveillance. Mobile phones sending location information to the network
providers enables contextual advertising and mapping. Debit and credit card
payment systems record amounts spent and stores visited. Store loyalty cards
enable databases of purchases to be compiled. Biometrics, measurements that
uniquely identify individuals, such as fingerprints and photographs, nowadays also
include DNA matching, and face and voice recognition. The rise of ‘Web 2.0’
technologies, allowing user-to-user contact, has resulted in sites for sharing
pictures, videos and movies on Web logs (blogs), and last but not least, the
nowadays enormous global social networks.
Data mining tools have been developed to find patterns in large collections of
personal data, to identify individuals and to attempt to predict their interests and
preferences. Companies use these technologies to obtain large customer bases.
Governments are increasingly analyzing and exchanging information on their
citizens. Individuals are shopping online and using social networking sites to share
information about themselves and their family, friends and colleagues.
Overall, collection, storage and usage of personal data have become a part of
everyday life at all levels of society.
So, nowadays it is a necessity of disclosing personal information:
1. Disclosing personal information is an increasing part of modern life
2.The government asks for more and more personal information
3.Nowadays one needs to log into several systems using several usernames and
passwords.
4.There is no alternative than to disclose personal information if one wants to obtain
products or services
5.Disclosing personal information in return for free services online, such as a free
email address.
But there are so many risks factors also:
1. Your information being used without your knowledge and information
being shared with third parties without your agreement.
2. Your identity being at risk of theft online.
3. Your information being used to send you unwanted commercial offers.
4. Your information being used in different contexts from the ones where you
disclosed it.
5. You can become a victim of fraud
Ideally it is correct that an honest man should have nothing to fear because he has
done nothing wrong. However, digital information is easily transferred – threats
exist and accidents happen. Perhaps an honest man does have something to fear.
Importance of the strengthening Ethical and
moral values in Public Service
Ethics involves cultivation of an attitude of moral obligation and personal
responsibility, as part of public service.
It is important in exploring public administration and policy in the context of the
Constitution, government institutions, laws, and regulations. The legitimacy of
public service rests on the Constitutional principles of equality, fairness,
representativeness, responsiveness, and due process. An appreciation for ethical
issues, within the context of a changing professional environment includes new and
sometimes daunting challenges.
Specifically, today’s public administration we must know the ethics of a profession
that is just beginning to grasp the complexities of administration in an ever-more
diverse polity, where there are so many challenges. We must know the ethical issues
that arise in the context of emerging globalization. Even more challenging is that we
must know an ethic of public life at a time when the very definition of “public life” is
undergoing radical redefinition, because the lines separating public from private and
nonprofit have become increasingly blurred by outsourcing, privatization, publicprivate partnerships, and a variety of other mechanisms that have collectively given
us the term “governance” in place of the former, more recognizable, “government”.
Nowadays moral reasoning became important because of globalization and increased
cultural and religious diversity, as well as by sectoral blurring .One have to consider
how individuals from different religious backgrounds (Hindu, Sikh, Christian and
Muslim) might view issues of sexual discrimination, whistle-blowing, and stealing.
The point is not to opine about the values of these faiths, but to make aware that
perspectives and levels of sensitivity on these issues can vary. One should consider
how they might handle these conflicting objectives (as opposed to how they would
handle them). A key objective of strengthening ethical and moral values is to
develop an appreciation for the evolving complexity of public sector decision making.
Thus importance of the strengthening ethical and moral values in public service
includes:
1. Developing an awareness of ethical issues and problems in the field;
2. Building analytical skills that can address those problems when they arise;
3. Cultivating an attitude of moral obligation and personal responsibility as part of
public service
4. Developing an understanding of the diverse perspectives of moral philosophers
5. Understanding how to frame the ethical dilemma in a model that allows
discussion from diverse perspectives and
6. Developing skills necessary for playing out the conflicts that arise, so that
students can measure the extent to which they have fulfilled the manifold and
conflicting moral obligations they have identified.
Ethics questions
1. Our ethical decisions are merely the result of social conditioning. Discuss.
2. Critically assess the claim that people are free to make moral decisions
3. God knows the ethical decisions we will make.’ Discuss
4. The weaknesses of Virtue Ethics outweigh its strengths.’ Discuss
Guidelines for Facilitating Solutions to
Ethical Dilemmas in Professional Practice
Step
1:
Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts
possible
Step
2:
Define the Stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome
Step
3:
Assess the motivations of the Stakeholders – using effective
communication techniques and personality assessment
Step
4:
Formulate alternative solutions – based on most complete information
available, using basic ethical core values as guide
Step
5:
Evaluate proposed alternatives – short-list ethical solutions only; may
be a potential choice between/among two or more totally ethical
solutions
Step
6:
Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – engineering codes of
ethics, previous cases, peers, and reliance on personal experience,
prayer
Step
7:
Select the best course of action – that which satisfies the highest core
ethical values
Step
8:
Implement the selected solution – take action as warranted
Step
9:
Monitor and assess the outcome – note how to improve the next time
Case Studies
Moral dilemmas are posed often by conflicts of moral values which can be
represented as either conflicts between different moral principles, or issues that are
raised by the application of one moral principle (conflicting applications of a given
moral principle, or questions concerning whether a principle applies at all). In each
of the following, consider which of the principles that we have considered in class
(honesty, promise-keeping, nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and equality)
apply in these cases, and how they help to define the moral issues at stake. (Note:
the task here is not to solve the moral dilemma, but to define the dilemma in terms
of relevant moral principles). I would suggest that you write down your answers.
Then check your answer according to analysis given in side:
1. Melinda’s father is
The ethical question concerns primarily a conflict
suffering from a gradually
worsening dementia due
to Alzheimer’s disease.
She has a deep respect
between the principles of
autonomy and beneficence. Autonomy normally
requires that we respect that decisions that individuals
make concerning their own welfare, but in cases
for her father, a man who
has always felt a deep
sense of personal
responsibility and has
where someone clearly is unable to take care of
themselves, the duty of beneficence would take
precedence. This is a case of the “grey area,” where it
is not so clear whether the father’s growing dementia
valued his independence
is severe enough to justifyoverruling his own decisions
and sense of selffor the sake, of his welfare.
reliance. He still insists on
making his own decisions,
but lately he has suffered
from significant memory
loss, and this has caused
Melinda to be concerned
about his welfare. She is
considering whether she
should take greater
responsibility for making
important decisions about
his treatment and his
living situation, despite
his father’s protests that
he can take care of
himself.
2. Jason is a lawyer who
This is a case of conflicting loyalties. The loyalty we
is currently representing
Company Y in contract
negotiations with
Company X. The crucial
have as moral agents based on special relationships to
others, such as, in this case, professional-client
relationships, can be understood as based in
the principle of promise-keeping: we make explicit
meeting is today: if final
agreements are not
reached, Company X has
said that they will end
or implicit promises to our family, friends, business or
professional associates, clients, etc., that we will
faithfully work with them to achieve common ends
and come to their aid in time of need. Such explicit or
negotiations. Another
client calls–a customer is
suing her company for
marketing a harmful
product. She needs to
talk with Jason over legal
strategies in the case.
Jason cannot help both
implicit promises may come into conflict, such as in
this case. Another principle that can apply at such
times is the principle of beneficence: if Jason’s help
will aid one of his clients more significantly than the
other, then that can be the basis for deciding where
the stronger obligation lies.
client’s today, although
both client’s clearly need
his help. Jason weighs his
obligations to both
clients.
3. Milly Thompson works
for a charity organization
that provides funds for
inner city projects that
help the poor. She has
been talking with a
potential donor who is
willing to give a very
large sum of money to
the charity, but this donor
is deeply prejudiced
against Hispanics, and is
Clearly the principle of honesty applies in this case:
this principle would require that Milly tell the donor
the truth. On the other hand, the principle of
beneficencewould suggest that Milly should do what
it takes to secure the donation for the sake of the
good this will do for the poor. Complicating the issue
is the question of whether a charity should take
money from donors who place stipulations born out of
personal prejudices on their donations, stipulations
that may require in the future that the charity make
decisions as to who they benefit on the irrelevant
basis of the ethnic heritage of the beneficiaries. This
not willing to give any
involves a consideration of the principle of equality.
money to projects in
Hispanic neighborhoods.
The potential donor asks
Milly directly whether any
of the money that he
would donate would go to
such projects. Currently
the only projects that the
charity is funding are
projects in Hispanic
neighborhoods, and
Board of Directors of the
charity has stipulated that
all current donations must
go to these projects.
Times are hard, and very
few donations are
currently coming in. In
fact, without this
donation, many of the
current projects will have
to be canceled. Milly
considers what she should
do: lie to the donor or tell
the truth.
4. Mary James, a state
The primary issue involves a conflict in the application
representative, has just
received confidential
information that a
Company X, that has a
of the principle of nonmaleficence: releasing the
information will harm the employees of the plant who
will be out of a job, but failing to release the
information will mean that local residents will receive
chemical processing plant
in James’ district, has not
taken proper safety
precautions to assure that
the region around the
plant is protected from
dangerous contamination.
There are some 300
residents in the area, and
there is a significant
danger that their health
may be jeopardized if the
no warning of a potential danger to their health, which
may result in their being harmed. The principle of
honesty also is involved. If James does not release
the information, and James makes no statement to
the effect that there is no danger, then James, of
course, will not be lying to anyone. But James’
constituents might have the expectation that any
public official who had information concerning a public
health risk would warn the public, which would mean
that although James does not lie, she may be thought
at least to deceive the local residents by her failure to
offer a warning.
situation continues. On
the other hand, Company
X has been threatening to
close the plant in James’
constituency, which would
put some 6,000 people
out of work. If James
releases the information,
this would surely lead
Company X to close the
plant. James is
considering whether she
has the moral
responsibility to release
the information or not.
5. In the summer of 1945
Harry S. Truman,
President of the United
States, had a difficult
The historical and ethical issues of the case are
complex, and still hotly debated, but two moral
principles that clearly apply in this case are the
principles ofnonmaleficence and beneficence.
decision to make. While it
was quite clear that Japan
would eventually be
defeated, the Japanese
were showing no sign of
surrender. It appeared
likely that to defeat
Japan, an invasion Japan
Dropping the atomic bomb on a populated area meant
killing tens of thousands (a violation of the principle of
nonmaleficence). On the other hand, it had the
potential of saving the lives of many thousands of U.S.
soldiers as well as tens of thousands of Japanese
soldiers and civilians who would be lost in an invasion
of Japan (principle of beneficence). In this case, as in
other cases of international relations in war and
would be necessary.
However such an invasion
would take a devastating
toll on both sides:
peace, a conflict between the principles ofpromisekeeping and equality (justice) applies as well. The
President has a responsibility to safeguard national
interests, a responsibility that can be understood to
estimates of losses on
both sides ranged into the
millions, and an invasion
would surely mean a long
protraction of the war.
Due to the success of the
“Manhattan Project” there
was an alternative:
dropping an atomic bomb
on Japanese territory
might convince the
Japanese generals of the
stem from a promise that the President makes to the
nation upon the assumption of power. This
responsibility would endorse, in this case, a greater
concern for the welfare of U.S. soldiers over the
welfare of the Japanese. On the other hand, there are
limits to such favoritism based on the principle of
equality, which, applied strictly, would require an
equal consideration of the welfare of all people,
regardless of national status. One such limit long
recognized in the history of warfare is that
noncombatants in a conflict should not be targets of
direct attack, which they surely were when the bomb
futility of their position. A
drop on an unpopulated
area might be tried, but
because the Japanese
military had shown an
obstinate willingness to
fight to the last, it was
believed that such an act
would not be likely to lead
was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, even if such
action would achieve military objectives. Although this
prohibition was violated many times during WW II, by
all sides, this provides no valid basis for the claim that
it may be ignored in this case.
to a surrender. If
dropping the bomb was to
be successful, it was
thought, it would have to
be dropped on a
populated area of some
strategic importance to
the Japanese. But this, of
course, meant certain
death for tens of
thousands of Japanese.
6. David, a single father,
has promised his sevenyear-old son that he
would attend his son’s
baseball game on
Saturday. On Saturday
morning, however, a
This case involves a conflict between the ethical
demands of promise-keeping and beneficence. As
in case two above, we might understand this case as
involving a conflict of loyalties based on the explicit
promise that David made to his son against the
implicit promise to render aid in time of need that in
part defines the ethical basis of David’s friendship with
close friend, John, calls.
John, who has been
unemployed for six
months, has just been
John. The question is, which promise is more
significant? The principle of beneficence would require
that David help out his friend John, but this does not
mean necessarily that David’s prima facie obligation to
asked to interview for a
new job, and if he doesn’t
show up today he loses
his one firm prospect for
employment. John’s wife
is away on a trip, and he
needs someone to look
after his infant daughter.
He tells David he’s tried
everyone he can think of,
and David is his last
hope. David does not
John is stronger than his obligation to his son. When
one action is supported by two ethical principles and
an alternative action is supported by one principle,
this does not necessarily mean that the first action
defines our obligation. Some consideration of the
nature and importance of the prima facie obligations
themselves is required.
want to disappoint his
son, but he knows he
couldn’t attend the
baseball game if he takes
care of John’s daughter
for the day.
7. Tom and Steve are
fellow foot soldiers
This case raises prudential and ethical issues that are
interconnected. Tom must consider the risk that he
fighting a war. They are
would face in his attempt to save Steve. This is a
part of a major offensive
against the enemy in a
conflict, an offensive that
is failing–their division is
prudential issue, but it has implications with respect to
how the principle of beneficence applies in the
case. The principle of beneficence would require that
Tom save Steve, but only if the risk to Tom’s personal
being forced by the
enemies counteroffensive
to retreat. Tom and Steve
become separated from
safety is not extreme and the prospect of saving Steve
is not hopeless (the factual issue of risk pertains
crucially to the moral issue of obligation here; if the
risk is great, Tom’s attempt to save Steve would be
the rest of their division
when Steve is hit by
shrapnel from an
exploding mortar round.
Steve is apparently
gravely wounded, but is
conscious and appears
lucid. Believing that he is
praiseworthy on moral grounds, but not required–in
other words, it would be a supererogatory act).
Complicating the issue is Steve’s insistence that he
should be left to die. If Steve is lucid enough to make
a competent judgment, then the principle of
autonomy would suggest that his wishes should be
respected. But here the factual issue of competence is
the key–is Steve’s assessment of the situation a
about to die in any case,
reasonable one, or is it born out of foggy thinking and
Steve urges Tom to leave a sense of hopelessness caused by his wounds?
him and retreat to safety.
Tom believes that he
might have a chance to
save Steve if he can carry
him to safety in time, but
knows that this will
involve a grave risk to
himself, and might very
well be futile. He wonders
whether he should
respect the wishes of
Steve, or take the risk to
himself and attempt to
save Steve’s life.
8. Mark Thompson, a
This is actually not a moral dilemma, although it may
single man of 25, is
employed as a clerk in a
bank. His boss
approaches him with a
problem: there has been
a confusion in the records
of several of the
depositors, which had the
effect of crediting too
be a personal one. The principle of honesty applies
to the case, requiring that Mark tell the truth, but this
principle is not in conflict with any other principle
representing a moral value that is pertinent to this
case, although the principle is in conflict with a
prudential concern of Mark’s: saving his job.Note: We
will consider in this course one ethical theory that
might be applied in this case to suggest that a moral
question is at stake–ethical egoism. But as we will
much interest to some
see, ethical egoism is a problematic theory that
accounts and not enough
to others. Mark
immediately realizes that
he was the cause of the
conflicts strongly with common moral intuitions.
error: he wasn’t terribly
careful the other day,
thinking about the
vacation he would take.
He fears for his job if his
boss discovers the truth.
His boss asks Mark if he
caused the confusion, and
Mark considers whether
he should lie about the
whole thing
9. Cheryl is a public
health official for a local
This case involves a conflict
between beneficence and autonomy. A quarantine
government. She has just
been informed that a
number of people at a
local office building have
would severely restrict the lives of the people within
the building (violating the principle of autonomy), but
this action is supported by the principle of
beneficence, since it would safeguard the health of the
become suddenly ill. Upon
investigation, she finds
that their is a highly
contagious virus that is
being that is making
people in the building ill,
and she wants to keep
the virus contained so
that others outside the
building are not
contaminated. She
considers the option of
general public. [One might be tempted to appeal to
the principle of nonmaleficence in this case: if
Cheryl does not impose a quarantine, she is thereby
allowing the public to be harmed by the virus. But
typically failing to prevent harm (rather than directly
causing harm) is understood by ethicists as a violation
of the principle of beneficence.] Finally, the principle
of equality is involved, since Cheryl must consider
the interests of each occupant of the building and
each person outside the building who might be in
danger of being infected by the virus on an equal
basis.
quarantining everyone in
the building, but wonders
whether a quarantine,
which would confine the
occupants of the building
for days or weeks, is
justified by the threat
that the virus poses to
public health.
10. David is a state trooper on highway duty. He observes a car racing down the
highway at 20 miles per hour above the legal speed limit. He gives chase, and
pulls the car over. When he comes over to the driver’s side to give the driver a
ticket, the driver explains that her husband is having a heart attack, and needs to
get to a hospital. David’s has the responsibility to give the driver a ticket. On the
other hand, he determines that the medical emergency is real, requiring
immediate attention, which would preclude taking the time to fill out a ticket.
Philosophical and ethical systems
Philosophical Systems
A philosophical system is a consistent set of values and criteria that apply to a wide
variety of issues. We have examined four systems:
Idealism: Reality is basically spirit or idea. Knowledge is gained through the mind.
Value is measured by conformity to ideals.
Realism: Reality is basically matter or the physical universe. Knowledge is gained
through the senses. Value is measured through conformity to nature.
Pragmatism: Reality is process or experience. Knowledge is gained through trial
and error. Value is measured by what is of practical benefit to society.
Existentialism: Reality is self-defined. Knowledge is gained through personal
decision making. Value is measured by responsible individual choice.
Ethical Systems
An ethical system is a consistent set of beliefs which can be applied to a wide variety
of ethical dilemmas. Some widely argued systems include:
Virtue: Ethical behavior is that which develops moral virtues. Focus on attitudes,
intentions, and character traits which enable humans to develop their potential.
Utilitarian (Bentham, Mill): Ethical choices produce the greatest good and the
least harm. Focus on consequences of actions.
Human Rights (Kant): Human rights are interests and activities which we must
respect and protect as a civilization. Every person has the fundamental right to be
respected and to be treated as a free and equal rational agent. This implies other
rights, such as privacy, truth, and freedom from harm. Focus on actions which do
not use people as instruments toward a goal.
Fairness/Justice (Aristotle): Treat people consistently the same, unless there are
morally relevant differences between them. Focus on fairness and consistency of
actions to distribute benefits and burdens among all members of a group.
Common Good (Plato, Aristotle, Cicero): Society is a community joined in a
shared pursuit of common goals. The good of the individual is inextricably bound to
the good of the group. Ethics advances the common good.
Ground rules for discussion of case
studies on ethics
1. The reasoning which leads to an opinion is important, not the opinion itself.
2. When discussing a case study, do not change the circumstances or the story of
the study.
3. Apply structured techniques to formulate and clarify thinking.
4. Identify the ethical component of an issue (what part of a dilemma requires an
ethical approach?
5. Identify the Subject related component of an issue (what part of the ethical
component is unique to subject?
6. Distinguish between positive arguments (do this) and negative arguments (don’t
do this).
7. Distinguish between personal and professional ethical positions.
8. Distinguish between the requirements of logic, of law, of institutional policy, of
personal preference, of social convention, and of ethics.
What are case studies?
Case studies are a tool for discussing scientific integrity. Although one of the most
frequently used tools for encouraging discussion, cases are only one of many
possible tools. Many of the principles discussed below for discussing case studies can
be generalized to other approaches to encouraging discussion about research ethics.
Cases are designed to confront readers with specific real-life problems that do not
lend themselves to easy answers. Case discussion demands critical and analytical
skills and, when implemented in small groups, also fosters collaboration.By providing
a focus for discussion, cases help trainees to define or refine their own standards, to
appreciate alternative approaches to identifying and resolving ethical problems, and
to develop skills for analyzing and dealing with hard problems on their own. The
effective use of case studies is comprised of many factors, including:
 appropriate selection of case(s) (topic, relevance, length, complexity)

method of case presentation (verbal, printed, before or during discussion)

format for case discussion (Email or Internet-based, small group, large
group)

leadership of case discussion (choice of discussion leader, roles and
responsibilities for discussion leader)

outcomes for case discussion (answers to specific questions, answers to
general questions, written or verbal summaries)
It should be noted that ethical decision-making is a process rather than a specific
correct answer. In this sense, unethical behavior is defined by a failure to engage in
the process of ethical decision-making. It is always unacceptable to have made no
reasonable attempt to define a consistent and defensible basis for conduct.
Leading Case Discussions:
For the sake of time and clarity of purpose, it is essential that one individual have
responsibility for leading the group discussion. As a minimum, this responsibility
should include:

Reading the case aloud.

Defining, and re-defining as needed, the questions to be answered.

Encouraging discussion that is “on topic”.

Discouraging discussion that is “off topic”.

Keeping the pace of discussion appropriate to the time available.

Eliciting contributions from all members of the discussion group.

Summarizing both majority and minority opinions at the end of the
discussion.
How should cases be analyzed?
Many of the skills necessary to analyze case studies can become tools for responding
to real world problems. Cases, like the real world, contain uncertainties and
ambiguities. Readers are encouraged to identify key issues, make assumptions as
needed, and articulate options for resolution. In addition to the specific questions
accompanying each case, readers might consider the following questions:
1. Who are the affected parties (individuals, institutions, a field, society) in
this situation?
2. What interest(s) (material, financial, ethical, other) does each party have
in the situation? Which interests are in conflict?
3. Were the actions taken by each of the affected parties acceptable (ethical,
legal, moral, or common sense)? If not, are there circumstances under
which those actions would have been acceptable? Who should impose
what sanction(s)?
4. What other courses of action are open to each of the affected parties?
What is the likely outcome of each course of action?
5. For each party involved, what course of action would you take, and why?
6. What actions could have been taken to avoid the conflict?
If consensus is not possible, then written or oral summaries should reflect majority
and minority opinions.
Is there a right answer?
ACCEPTABLE SOLUTIONS:
Most problems will have several acceptable solutions or answers, but it will not
always be the case that a perfect solution can be found. At times, even the best
solution will still have some unsatisfactory consequences.
UNACCEPTABLE SOLUTIONS:
While more than one acceptable solution may be possible, not all solutions are
acceptable. For example, obvious violations of specific rules and regulations or of
generally accepted standards of conduct would typically be unacceptable. However,
it is also plausible that blind adherence to accepted rules or standards would
sometimes be an unacceptable course of action.
Indian tradition of ethics
Ethics (nītīśāstra) is a branch of philosophy that deals with moral values. It studies
human character and conduct in terms of good and bad, right and wrong. . Ethics is
primarily concerned with the moral issues of the world. A true knowledge of ethics
would be attained if one practices and imbibes these moral values.
True religion lays stress on moral virtues. People are required to discharge their
duties according to the moral code of ethics. In the knowledge tradition of India,
ethics has its origin in its religious and philosophical thinking. From time
immemorial, various religious faiths have flourished here. Every religious and every
philosophical system of India has a prominent ethical component. Ethics is the core
of all these systems. In every religious tradition, good moral conduct is considered
essential for a happy and contented life. Without following the path of righteousness
no one can attain supreme goal (mokṣa) of life. For this one has to perform good
deeds and avoid wrong-doing.
Rigveda and Cosmic order : India has a very ancient history of thinking about
ethics. Its central concepts are represented in Ṛigveda, one of oldest knowledge
texts not only of India but of the entire world. In Ṛigveda, we come across the idea
of an all-pervading cosmic order (ṛta) which stands for harmony and balance in
nature and in human society. Here ṛta is described as a power or force which is the
controller of the forces of nature and of moral values in human society. In human
society, when this harmony and balance are disturbed, there is disorder and
suffering. This is the power or force that lies behind nature and keeps everything in
balance.
Dharma : In Indian tradition, the concept of ṛta gave rise to the idea of dharma.
The term dharma here does not mean mere religion; it stands for duty, obligation
and righteousness. It is a whole way of life in which ethical values are considered
supreme and everyone is expected to perform his or her duty according to his or her
social position and station in life.
In Buddhism, the word dhamma is used, which is the Pāli equivalent of the Sanskrit
word dharma. The guidelines and rules regarding what is considered as appropriate
behaviour for human beings are prescribed in the Dharma Śāstras. These are
sociological texts that tell us about our duties and obligations as individuals as well
as members of society.
In the Hindu way of life, every individual is expected to perform his or her duty
appropriate to his or her caste (varṇa) and stage of life (āśrama). This division of
one’s life into the four āśramas and their respective dharmas, was designed, in
principle at least, to provide fulfilment to the person in his social, moral and spiritual
aspects, and so to lead to harmony and balance in the society. The four āśramas
are: (1) brahmacarya, stage of studentship; (2) gṛhastha, stage of the householder;
(3) vanaprastha, life in the forest; and saṁnyāsa, renunciation.
Apart from this, the concept of four ends of life (puruṣārthas) is also very
important. These four ends of life are the goals which are desirable in them and also
needed for fulfillment of human aspirations. These are (1) righteousness (dharma);
(2) worldly gain (artha); (3) fulfillment of desire; (kāma) and (4) liberation (mokṣa).
The fulfillment of all of these four ends of life is important for man. In this
classification, dharma and mokṣa are most important from the ethical point of view.
They give right direction and purpose to human life. For instance, acquiring wealth
(artha) is a desirable objective, provided however it also serves dharma, that is, the
welfare of the society.
In the Bhagavad-Gītā, selfless action (niśkāma karma) is advocated. It is an action
which is required to be performed without consideration of personal consequences.
It is an altruistic action aimed at the well-being of others rather than for oneself. In
Hinduism this doctrine is known as karma yoga.
The concept of right and wrong is the core of the Mahābhārata which emphasizes,
among others, the values of non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, charity,
forgiveness and self realization. It is only by performing one’s righteous duties or
dharma that one can hope to attain the supreme path to the highest good. It
is dharma alone that gives both prosperity (abhyudaya) and the supreme spiritual
good (niśryas).
Similarly, the importance of ethics and ethical values is highlighted in epics and
philosophical texts like, Upaniṣads, Rāmāyaṇa, darśana-śāstras and dharmaśāstras.
The darśana śāstras are philosophical texts, which provide rational explanations of
the ethical issues; the universal moral problems faced by man in daily life are placed
in a philosophical context.
In the dharma-śāstras, emphasis is on the social ethics. In these texts the interpersonal and social relations are placed in an ethical framework for guidance. In
these texts the ethical problems are discussed in an indirect manner.
Apart from these some of the texts directly deal with ethical issues:
1. Viduranītī: Attributed to Vidura, the great Mahābhārata character. A rich
discourse on polity and dharma-śāstra.
2. Kamandakīya Nītisāra:A Sanskrit work belonging to c. 700-750 CE.
3. Nītivākyamṛtam: Literally the ‘nectar of science of polity’ contains thirty-two
discourses in simple Sanskrit prose by a Jain scholar, Somadeva Suri.
4. Ḷaghu Arhannīti: A small manual in Prakrit verse (c. 1088-1172 CE) on civil and
criminal laws by Hemachandra, a Jain scholar.
5. Śukranītisara: An abridged Sanskrit text on polity which is attributed to
Śukrācārya but believed by scholars to be a work of the early mediaeval period of
history.
6. Nītikalpatarū: A Sanskrit treatise attributed to King Bhoja, available in
manuscript only.
7. Nīti Śatakam: Bhartṛhari’s hundred verses on ethics.
Buddhist ethics
Buddhism gives primary importance to ethics. Sometimes it is called an ethical
religion as it does not discuss or depend on the existence of God (the Supreme
Being with form and attributes) but instead believes in alleviating the suffering of
humanity. The ethical values in this faith are based on the life and teachings of
the Buddha.
These moral instructions are included in Buddhist scriptures or handed down through
tradition. According to Buddhism, the foundation of ethics is thepañcaśīla (five
rules), which advocates refraining from killing, stealing, lying, sexual
misconduct and intoxicants. In becoming a Buddhist, a lay person is encouraged
to take a vow to abstain from these negative actions.
In Buddhism, the two most important ethical virtues are compassion (karuṇa)
and friendliness (maitrī). One should have deep sympathy and goodwill for the
suffering people and should have the qualities of a good friend.
The most important ethical value is non-violence or non-injury to all living
beings. Buddhist ethics is based on Four Noble Truths. These are: (1) life is
suffering, (2) there is a cause for suffering, (3) there is a way to remove it, and (4)
it can be removed (through the eight-fold path). It advocates the path of
righteousness (dhamma). In a way this is the crux of Buddhist morality.
Jain ethics
Jainism places great emphasis on three most important things in life, called three
gems (triratna). These are: right vision (samyaka dṛṣṭī), right
knowledge(samyaka jñāna) and right conduct (samyaka cāritra).
Apart from these, Jain thinkers emphasize the need for reverence (śraddhā).There
are other moral principles governing the life of Jains. Most important of these are
ideas of puṇya (merit) and pāpa (demerit). Such deeds are very important from the
ethical point of view. Pāpa is the result of evil deeds generated by vice
and puṇya is the result of good deeds generated by virtuous conduct. One should
take the path of a virtuous life to lead the way to spiritual growth. Right conduct is
necessary for the spiritual progress of man.
The most important thing in Jainism is practice of non-violence. It is required that
principle of principle of non-violence should be followed in thought, word and deed.
The other cardinal virtues are: Forgiveness, humanity, simplicity, noncovetousness’, austerity, restraint, truthfulness, purity, renunciation and celibacy.
Sikh ethics
Sikhism is most recent faith in Indian tradition.It also lays great stress on ethics in
Human life. Its Founder Gurunanak dev said that truth is higher than anything
else. The cardinal virtue according to Guru Granth Sahib are: compassion (daya),
charity (dana) contentment (santokh), non-enmity (nirvair) and selfless service
(seva). In addition to these one is morally obliged to practice the general and
eternal virtues.
S
Strengthening of ethical and
moral values in Governance
Can Administrative Ethics Be Taught?
What are public administration ethics? There is reasonably broad agreement about
what administrative ethics are not. They are not vague, “feel-good” exhortations
about an undefined public interest, and they are not simply the general ethical
principles that typically guide personal, moral choices .Just as the legal and medical
professions have codes of ethics tailored to their professions, public administrators
have adopted ethical principles for public stewardship.
By focusing on new challenges of the evolving nature of governance, a main premise
is that: Can Administrative Ethics Be Taught? Code of Ethics implicitly commits
public administrators to adjust their frameworks for decision making in a way that
reflects the changing nature of the public, and—by extension—the public interest.
Indeed, this Code requires public administrators “to exercise discretionary authority
to promote the public interest” and further recognizes that the Code of Ethics is “a
living document”.
Today population is broader and more diverse than those in the past. For example,
today’s “governance” features new entities and new relationships that may be
subject to new conflicts of interest —ones that previously had not existed. As a
result, it is necessary to be familiar with the administrative Code, but the utility of
ethics codes can only be realized after one learn how to recognize circumstances
(old and new) that pose ethical dilemmas, and acquire a broader understanding of
the approaches to ethical decision making. One way to grasp and prepare for the
evolving challenges is to discuss events, preferably local ones that pose ethical
dilemmas. It also is important to develop a “system” for considering ethical
dilemmas. Thus, the teaching ethics is important to reflect on the broader
implications that are inherent to any decision brought on by the changing nature of
governance.
Status and concern: Trust in Government
The changing nature of the public sector brings new challenges to governance and
ethical decision making. The evolving nature of the sector reflect the complexity of
moral reasoning that is required to maintain adherence to ethical principles, when
processes lead to conflicts between deeply held value systems.
Trust in government — or the lack thereof — has become a subject of considerable
concern. India is developing country so, central and state governments at all levels
have assumed additional responsibilities. Therefore the need for public
administrators to function as ethical and trustworthy managers of our public
regulatory agencies also has grown. Whatever their political ideologies, most Indians
want government to discharge its duties competently and in a manner consistent
with our Constitutional values.
Today we must rely on government agencies to ensure that our water is drinkable,
our aircraft flyable, our roads passable, and much more. But it is difficult to trust our
government agencies to discharge these and other similar functions in a competent
and ethical manner. When India is going through a time where government seems
inept or corrupt, as we periodically do, that confidence is shaken, and our skepticism
and distrust affect more than just the political system. This is because trust in our
governing institutions inevitably sets the tone for our confidence in all institutions.
When we perceive that our government is not trustworthy, that perception infects
the entire society.
Ethics is the counter-force to administrative efficiency, and a key reason for having
ethical standards is to prevent moral hazard. Administrative moral hazards arise
when managers take inefficient actions, often because their individual interests do
not align with the public interest — a form of cost less, unethical behavior for the
administrator that has a significant cost to taxpayers.
In short, the ethical goal of administrators is to prevent inefficiencies and building
trust in government. Rawlsian (1971) notion of basic rights and a social contract
between citizen and government is relevant today. The idea that public servants are
obligated to provide and defend “core public values” also has been developed in
recent literature.
Professional competence and holistic
competence
Professional competence is based only on development of skills and do not take care
of means and thus the results are more visible and immediate, but are short lived as
the approach is not holistic. As against these, when the skills combined with values
are used in wholesome manner, they result in long-term gains, though for a shortterm it may be painful or more demanding. Skills, which are not value-based may
often be misused. Thus in a long-term they are the failure. One has to chose
between ‘short-term gain and long-term pain’ or short-term pain and long-term
gain’. In value based skill development, we expand the definition of success, making
it long-term, sustainable and wholesome. Such value-based skill development leads
to ‘Existential or Holistic Competence’.
Thus, skills development leads to Professional competence and skills &values
development leads to Holistic competence.
Value based actions also help in conservation of energy; whereas the actions based
on negative values dissipate our energy. The modem education and training both
formal and informal, take care of professional competence only and there is no
scope for development of existential competence
Development of such existential competence was imparted in natural way in the
family, society and educational institutions. With increase in materialism, we have
started chasing the worldly things, thus withdrawing our attention from
consideration if our actions are morally sound or not. Moral education has slowly
been taken away. That is why today many of the successful persons are apparently
successful, but are not real winners within themselves. Existential competence
ensures both the success outside and survival within.
Enhancement of existential competence and effectiveness can be done by (a)
developing sensitivity to human values and (b) imbibing those values.
All our efforts towards clean administration and good governance can bring about
the long term improvement only if the individual functionaries are derived from
within to take right actions. This goal can be achieved through all the effort on self
(I) only.
Knower- doer split – a lesion from swami
Dayanand
Impact of “Values vis-à-vis our actions” on development of our personality:
When we ignore general ethical standards we create knower-doer split in our self.
For instance, when one person lie, he/she become a speaker: speaking is an action,
so as a speaker he/she is an actor-a doer. At the same time, he/she knows what
he/she is saying. He/she is aware that what he/she is saying is something
contradictory to truth. Therefore, as the knower, he/she is in one position and as the
doer, he/she is in another position. By speaking lie , he/she create a split, a
division, between the knower and the doer.
Everyone has a few lies . When one makes a series of lies he/she creates a split in
them self, the knower being one and the doer another. He/she not integrated. He
/she is divided into an ‘ideal’ knower who values one course of action and the
‘actual’ doer who does something else. It creates a conflict within a personality. This
is harmful. The knower condemns the doer. So, in this situation one cannot enjoy
anything and the quality of life suffers.
‘Together’ is a good Western expression, which shows an intuitive appreciation of
the problem of ’split’. When ones universal values is only half values, they will
always have the potential of destroying ones ‘togetherness’ producing a ‘split’ in
them, when they yield to some immediate situational value.
Our outer behavior reflects how far we abide by this inner value-system. The more
our conduct is in consonance with the inner values, the better composed and
integrated our personality is.
The better composed and integrated personality can work and give their best in any
organization or field such as administration.
Ethics in India
Our country is one of the oldest civilizations with a rich cultural and ethical heritage.
Our Constitution as well as all our religious books is full of codes and directives on
high values and ethics to be followed by the state as well as the society.
‘Do not do unto others as you would not be done by ’(Atmani Pratikulani paresham
na samachary), is the principle given in ‘Mahabharat’. The definition of Ethics is well
concretized in this maxim. This means that we should not do anything, which is a
deviation from our intrinsic humanness – Swabhav. If we are able to do this, our
inner core will spontaneously manifest itself. Ethics is human conduct in the light of
moral principles, which may be viewed as the individual’s standard of conduct or as
a body of social obligations and duties. Our behavior outside is a reflection of our
values within, which we radiate outwards thorough our action and deeds.
But, there is perceptible change in the mind-set of the people towards achieving
materialistic goals and prosperity irrespective of the “means” to be adopted.
Ironically, the society also respects material prosperity only because of visible
glamour attached with it with little regard to higher values of simplicity, honesty,
hard-work, character building etc.
There is a saying that a country gets the kind of government it deserves’. This is
truly reflected in our present day society and calls for a serious introspection and
concerted effort towards change in the social mind-set.
In our work situations, the organizational behavior theories of the west guide us. As
is obvious, these theories and practices which deal with only one-ninth of the Indian
population while the eight-ninth of the Indian population is traditional (normative).
The men in the fields of India are guided by the insights embedded in the structure
of Indian thoughts. Thus the western thoughts have not been able to lead us much
ahead. It is important to look into our own Indian thought and find solutions therein.
Once upon a time India was known as Golden Bird (sone ki chidia) for all its
prosperity and richness. The credit goes to all the saintly kings, from king Janaka to
Ashoka, Akbar, Harshabardhan and the like; who had put into practice human values
ideology as given in Vedanta and the other ancient Indian thoughts. It is because of
these values that we could sustain ourselves through all adversities and cruelties of
the earlier invaders and the British Rule.
Our leaders like Tagore and Gandhi have lived the human values like purity and
holiness, non-violence and moral courage. Gandhi forcefully and convincingly
demonstrated the power of spirit over material things. His greatest leverage was his
command over the Indian masses. He gained such a command because the simple
folk could understand that he was inspired from within. They called
him‘Mahatma’. Merely by his hunger strike, the Mahatma could control behavior of
millions of people. He firmly derived his political activities from dharmic principles
and refused to compromise with what was wrong.
The Indian philosophy has set the ultimate goals for humans and Indian psychology
provides practical methods in graded steps to march towards these goals and ethics
is imbibed in it. Thus Indian psycho-philosophy deals with both of these aspects to
bring in holistic development of the individual to make him/her full of values and
ethical.
Ethics with reference to Organisation
Seen with reference to Administration, Ethics is the system of moral principles/ Code
of conduct, acting in the manner consistent with which is upheld as virtuous. Ethics
are reflected in such right actions or deeds. Our conduct Rules also give a general
rule that the Government Servants should not do anything, which is unbecoming of
a Government Servant.
Ethics reflects the inner excellence of a person in attitudes, decisions and action. A
good decision can benefit millions, while an unethical one can cripple future. A
government servant in every situation is required to perform or act; one should not
get upset by the various problems created by the systems and people around; but
accept and visualize calmly the whole situations/conditions/problems around and
think: ‘Given the situation what best can I do and how?’
If a public administrator is ethical and full of value, he/she would be peaceful and
integrated person. This would primarily helps him/her and in course of time, goes to
help others in the family, society, organization and the nation on the whole because
it is the individuals who make a society, an organization or a nation.
Thus: ∑ individuals = Organization.
Value based management and administration only can save us from the adverse
consequences of the present situation. Unless all the individuals who work for an
organization imbibe these values, both in theory and practice, the system cannot
change.
Thus, ethics in administration leads to a positive change.
What are Human values?
There are two approaches in defining values. One says values are an inbuilt
mechanism in us , which distinguishes the right from the wrong, the do’s and don’ts
of any action, even when no one is looking. It rooted in the finest part of the self
from where we radiate outwards. Values are concerned with character and conduct
of a person and evaluate the voluntary and habitual actions of individuals with
reference to their being right or wrong.
Another approach says that this self-managing mechanism is not intuitive, but it is
acquired from the environment by continuous teaching and the behavior of others,
especially the superior in age and statues, as perceived by an individual. We cannot
deny the impact of environment, society and family on an individual for the values
he imbibes. At the same time, we cannot deny the fact that the source of values is
within, which guides one in making choice in acquisition of learning from the
environment.
Values refer to our intrinsic humanness. Individual or personal values vary to the
extent one is conscious towards this inner source and the extent to which one tends
to compromise with it in the given cultural environment and other compulsions. Thus
both the source within and the cultural environment are important for inculcation of
values.
Values depends upon different social environments, in which a person lives and actsbe it the family, the neighborhood, the place of work, the community or the country
at large. However, at the root of all the value systems, there are certain Universal
Values, which are uniformly accepted. Such values lead to the betterment of the
entire humanity. In the given culture, some deviations may come in the valuesystem due to the compulsions of the circumstances then prevailing. Such deviations
hold good in those circumstances and time only, but do not hold good forever.
Some customs were need of time like in 18th century marrying up to four women in
Muslims was allowed when male population had reduced drastically due to war;
caste system was allowed when there was need of professional unity etc, but these
are not relevant in the modern times, but due to conditioning, they keep following
the same practices. Many social evils like untouchability, child marriage at a time
also become part of a value system. Thus none of the value systems is perfect in
absolute terms. The nearer a value system is to the Universal values; the better it is
in terms of virtues and righteousness. The deviations in the value systems only lead
to conflicts and wars and are against human development.
There are certain qualities/emotions, which are accepted as Universal Human Values
such as non-violence, gratitude, humbleness, forgiveness, integrity, honesty,
patience, innocence etc.
Personal values are those principles, which govern our perceptions and action. For
example the terrorist attack in Mumbai on 26 November 2008 shocked the world.
Majority of the people who value peaceful life and non-injury would condemn the
action, which has resulted in so much of damage to life and property. But the people
who were behind this apparently had values of a different type. Those who are
condemning the terrorist attack probably value the peace in a society, respect for
life, not causing harm to innocent people as important values so that a society can
peacefully progress. On the other hand, those who willfully caused the terrorist
attack are derived by different set of values. Such values are condemned by
humanity and are not desirable as they are purely destructive.
Thus the set of traits as are not desirable are greed, anger, envy, arrogance,
vindictiveness and vanity etc. Such qualities or traits, lead to destructive actions.
When practiced over a period of time, they build into habits. Desirable values derive
a person to use his capabilities for positive actions, i.e. actions useful to humanity
(and not self alone), while the undesirable values derive them for negative actions,
which may result in his own benefit or fulfillment of desire, but are in a long run
harmful to both the society and the doer. Values guide us in deciding what is to be
done and also the means that should be used for such action.
Values are universal, absolute and beyond the situational, cultural, race and creed
disparities. Our outer behavior reflects how far we abide by this inner value-system.
We can say that whatever our conduct ought to be when we are in tune with this
inner source is what we term as Ethics. The more our conduct is in consonance with
the inner values, the better composed and integrated our personality is.
Strengthening ethical and moral values in
Governance
Importance of strengthening ethical and moral values in Governance:
There are certain rules, code of conduct which is followed under given compulsion.
But compulsion may be broken any moment if there is a mismatch or conflict within
doer. So, there is a need of inner deposition consistent with the act. This inner
deposition would come by inculcating moral values. These moral values are essential
for a person to become real human being. Real transformation as a human being
can only bring about a sustainable impact towards Good-Governance. If a person is
moral, the action outside becomes voluntary, spontaneous and self-motivated.
Naturally, such actions will be much more effective, humane and wholesome in
nature. Therefore, values in individual is important because organizational values
always derive from individual values. Individual is the foundation of a group, a
society or a country as a whole. Our great modern thinkers like Tagore, Vivekanand
and Gandhi have devoted their lives to the betterment of our society. They always
emphasized purity and strength of human character.
Building of human character is experiential process. Intellectual clarity is important
for right kind of emotional development. The normal outgoing tendencies in a man,
which tend to land him in a mess, is balanced with a harmonizing inward journey.
So, there is need of efforts to blend conceptual insights with the practical issues of
value-based human response in organizations.
Administration is not only Public Administration, it related with the whole
Government set up and its variety of activities. Administration is required to provide
all types of social, economical, and utility services to its citizens for the all round
development of the people. Not only this, Administration is required to have
capability of acquiring a sustained growth and to cope with new continuous change
towards the achievement of progressive political, economical and social objectives,
thus leading to National building.
Clean efficient and impartial Administration is necessary for the proper execution of
national plans and programs. But, we find corrupt practices, low morale, and
favoritism, culture of high consumerism, casteism, and nepotism all around us.
In the organization, there is stress on skills-development, which of course is
required to keep pace with the changing technology and requirements. At the same
time, efforts to some extent are also being made to develop positive attitude of the
government officials towards the desired acts and behaviors. However, little is
achieved through all the efforts made in this direction. Today, there is lot of gap
between theory and practice, belief and action. This gap leads to hypocrisy. This
contradiction leads to tensions and stress in the society. According to Gandhi, social
development must aim at removing as far as possible this contradiction.
Now days, corruption and power abuse in administration and politics has weaken the
nation. The obvious solution is better, more transparent and accountable
administration. Such an administration can be trustworthy only when it is based on
deeply felt human values. Unless values are inculcated within human beings, their
attitude and behavior cannot be changed through superficial efforts.
The need for inculcating values has also been emphasized in the Parliamentary
Standing Committees and many other Committees. If sound, positive, noble human
values are nurtured within the process of human development, ethical behavior
tends to become natural, spontaneous and almost instinctive. Such values only can
lead to Good governance.
Civil Society as educator and watchdog
In a modern and democratic society, it is vital to have the support of active and
committed citizens, as well as of the organizations in which they come together to
give a voice to their concerns, in order to realize political ambitions and objectives.
The economic globalization of today means that decisions are being taken further
and further away from the persons affected by them. Ensuring participation of
grassroots-level players, through their representative organizations, in policyshaping and decision-making processes is therefore a key instrument to reinforce
the democratic legitimacy of public institutions and their work and activities. Their
involvement furthermore facilitates the emergence of a new consensus on the sense
and direction of public affairs and makes it possible to shape policies and to make
decisions in the general interest.
The current challenges facing the India and the growing complexity of the issues at
stake are such that the involvement of civil society organizations is now more than
ever of particular relevance. Through their experience, expertise and specialized or
technical knowledge of the topic in question, the quality and credibility of political
decision-making can be greatly enhanced. Furthermore, their participation
contributes to a better understanding and acceptance by the public of the decisions,
and thus to their implementation in a more effective way.
Ethics in Public Administration
By and large the civil service in India has lost its neutral and anonymous character
and even though there are still some upright civil servants, they are getting
marginalized in the process of governance. Reason for negative image:
(i) Increasingly, corrupt practices have become prevalent in the higher civil service
and public perception of higher civil servants as a class is not edifying.
(ii)The higher civil servants – particularly, officers of the Indian Administrative
Service, Indian Police Service, and Indian Forest Service working in different States
of the country do not have a fixed tenure in any post and hence are not able to
achieve the targets fixed for them in their assignments. In the absence of any fixed
tenure, these officers of the All India Services are not able to function as effective
instruments of public policy and are simply wasted due to frequent transfers from
one post to the other.
(iii) A majority of civil servants are not perceived as people-friendly and by and large
they have lost touch with ground realities. There is a sharp decline in their field
visits and inspections of field programmers. Civil servants in the States have almost
given up the earlier practice of sustained tours of remote areas and night halts in
those areas which are so essential to understand and redress problems of the poor
and the weaker sections of the community.
(iv) There is ‘groupies’ among higher civil servants and increasingly they have been
divided along sectarian lines – an extremely unfortunate development.
(v) Some civil servants develop an unhealthy nexus with power brokers and do not
hesitate to resort to questionable means to get good postings in India or abroad.
(vi) The vigilance organization in States and the Central Bureau of Investigation in
Government of India have created such a fear psychosis that civil servants are afraid
of taking bold decisions in the public interest i.e. decisions involving expenditure of
big amounts of money and important commercial decisions.
(vii) Bureaucratization has brought a paralysis to the administration, impunity to
civil servants, and a generalized feeling of impotence on the part of society.
(viii) The main external cause of the negative image of the public service is a result
of the biased posture of the media. The media emphasize often a distorted image of
the public sector. These negative aspects include corporativism, corruption and
nepotism.
There is a need of making the Civil Service responsive and citizen-friendly;
transparent; accountable; and ethical in its actions and interface with the people.
The reputation can be rescued by applying these steps:
(i) Integrity in public service and removal from service of corrupt officials;
(ii) Making public friendly administration;
(iii) Constitution of a high level panel comprising Comptroller & Auditor General,
Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Cabinet Secretary to ensure clean and
accountable govt.;
(iv) Formulation of a policy of transfer for civil servant
(v) Civil servants in the States should do tours of remote areas and night halts in
those areas which are so essential to understand and redress problems of the poor
and the weaker sections of the community.
(vi) Making the civil service e-governance friendly
(vii) Putting a premium on intellectual growth of civil servants.
(viii) There is a need to enforce the ‘Single Directive to protect honest officers who
take bold decisions in the public interest.
(ix) There is a need of human resources policies which should emphasize
professionalism, the merit system, and working conditions compatible with the
public service.
(x) The introduction of basic notions of ethics and citizenship in the academic
curriculum at all levels of education is necessary.
The implementation of administrative reforms recommendation is very useful in
improving ethical conduct in the public service. It is important for of securing
administrative continuity. This provides insights for betterments.
To the extent that probity and dedication are fundamental values, are there,
today, objective conditions to promote these principles in the public
service?
The legal framework applicable to ethical problems in the public service is already
quite vast from the Constitution to the Code of Ethics although its actual
implementation is insignificant. Nevertheless, public servants, in general, abide by
ethical standards applicable to the public service and sanctioned by society. The gist
of the problem lies in insufficient implementation.
So, it is necessary to take initiatives to reduce the punitive character of the Code of
Ethics, in order to emphasize education, without an over reliance on punishment. To
the extent that ethical conduct is intended to protect primarily the public service, not
the individual civil servant, a sound human resources policy should emphasize
professionalism, qualification, and retraining programs which should include ethical
notions and principles. There is a need to take initiative to include principles of
Ethics in the academic curriculum, starting in elementary schools.
Ethical Theories
Here are some suggestions about how some of the chief ethical theories would
address various issues. This is all pretty tentative, in part because different ethical
theories tend to focus on different issues, so it’s not always easy to determine how
one theory would address the issues that are the chief concern of another theory.
Also, many of the categories in the table are not strictly parts of the moral theories,
but rather views on other topics (such as personal identity or the nature of
rationality) which seem to mesh well with a particular ethical theories.
Consequentialis Deontology
Virtue Ethics
m
example
utilitarianism
Kantianism
Aristotelianism
model of
practical
reasoning
means-ends
reasoning: how
do I get what I
want/what’s
good?
how do I determine
what’s rational?
what habits should I
develop?
personal
identity
(what is
essential to
the self?)
will & reason +
desires
will & reason
(desires are
thought of as
outside forces with
the potential to
thwart rationality)
will& reason + desires +
character traits
rationality
getting what you
want
doing what reason
requires (at a
minimum, not
having inconsistent
or selfcontradictory polici
es)
having the kinds of desires
which reason determines are
best
central
question
what ought I to
do?
(act orientation)
what ought I to do?
(act orientation)
what’s the best sort of
person to be?
(agent orientation)
primary
object
of evaluati
consequences
acts
(states of affairs)
people (agents)
on
the good
the right
virtue
BASIC NOTION
(for most
right action itself (? whatever results from the
or possibly states of actions of good
consequentialists
, maximum
happiness or
something
affairs brought
people? happiness? acquisi
about by right
tion of goods internal to
action? or states of practices (MacIntyre)?
affairs in which
similar)
people who act
rightly are
rewarded?)
actions that
maximize the
BASIC NOTION
the sort of thing a virtuous
person would do in the
good
situation
being disposed to positive attitude
maximize utility
toward doing one’s
(for simple
moral duty(?)
versions of
consequentialism
BASIC NOTION
(but may be analyzed, e.g.
as those dispositions
necessary for the attainment
of happiness)
, there will be
just one big
virtue; more
complex versions
might have
many)
What may be expected from the media in the
development of a policy aiming at the improvement
of ethical conduct in the public sector?
Press is playing an efficient institutional role in the field of ethics. Moreover, it
became clear that civil servants in general are resentful of the press, in spite of the
fact that virtually all major scandals were investigated as a result of denunciations
by the press. This reaction seems to stem from a perception that the press is
responsible for the current deterioration of the public image of the public sector.
From their standpoint, the role of the press during the past few years has been one
of denunciation. Rampant competition in the media has caused irresponsible
denunciations, based on insufficient investigation, unreliable sources, and distortion
of facts. As a result, public institutions have been discredited, according to the
prevailing opinion of the participants.
A cooperative posture of the press, although desirable, is overshadowed by its
tendency to highlight negative facts and ignore positive ones whenever the public
sector is concerned.
A healthy system is like the ones adopted in the United States and the United
Kingdom, where freedom of the press is guaranteed, but journalists and the media
are responsible for error or libel. Furthermore, since globalization and technological
development are increasing, the power of the press will continue to expand.
So, the press should act as a watchdog and whistleblower but in a competent,
accurate and responsible manner. Positive facts and information relevant to society
must also be published. The agenda of the press and the agenda of the government
must be kept separate.
And, public sector should take the initiative of divulging facts that are relevant to
society through the press; Promote the Rajyasabha-TV; and effectively regulate the
use and preservation of confidential and privileged information.
On the other hand, the press is a vehicle to divulge matters of interest to the public
sector and to society. It is necessary to evolve norms and practices requiring proper
screening of all allegations/complaints by the media, and taking action to put them
in the public domain. Thus cooperation with press is desirable in improvement of
ethics in public sector.
Ethical Governance
Relevance of Ethics in Public realm
Mahatma Gandhi dreamed Ram-rajya. It is commonly known that
underRamarajya both those at the helm of public institutions, as well as the public,
would live by the highest moral values. In this sense it is a form of Utopia.
Moral values or ethics is simply about what we ought to do or ought not to do. That
is, it is concerned with what is good and bad, right and wrong, just and unjust, or
noble and ignoble, and how we can tell the difference. There are many different and
often competing ethical frameworks, theories, and principles, and there is certainly
no complete agreement about the ethical standards and behavior that should apply
in specific contexts. However, it is generally accepted that the domain of ethics
embraces not merely the discrete actions of individuals but also the actions of
groups of individuals – whether these groups are small, such as families, or large,
such as nations and the international community.
Our elected leaders (such as the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers), elected
representatives (such as Members of Parliament), political staff, and public servants
make policies for the development. Development means that public policy should be
directed towards the goal of building the good society, or at least a better one than
we currently experience.
With respect to the purpose of public policy, John Rawls (1971), have given pride of
place to the quest for justice. Others have argued that the overarching aim should
be to realise the common good or the public interest. Still others have invoked
theological categories and argued that the role of the state is to uphold the divine
will or build the Kingdom of God. And yet others, notably utilitarians such as John
Stuart Mill (see Robson 1966), have emphasized the need to maximize utility,
happiness, or welfare or achieve the greatest good for the greatest number. So,a
good public policy constitutes ethical foundation such as justice, humanity and
prudence.
Hence, ethical inquiry – or what is often called moral philosophy – is not confined to
the private sphere of life; it is equally relevant to the public realm, including the
decisions of those who act on behalf of the public, whether at the national or subnational level.
Nature and essence of ethics
Most people learn ethical norms at home, at school, in religion, or in other social
settings. Although most people acquire their sense of right and wrong during
childhood, moral development occurs throughout life and human beings pass
through different stages of growth as they mature. Ethical norms are so ubiquitous
that one might be tempted to regard them as simple commonsense or intuition.
On the other hand, if morality were nothing more than commonsense or
intuition, then why are there so many ethical disputes and issues in our
society?
One plausible explanation of these disagreements is that all people recognize some
common ethical norms but different individuals interpret, apply, and balance these
norms in different ways in light of their own values and life experiences.
It is important to remember that ethics and law are not the same. An action may be
legal but unethical or illegal but ethical. We can also use ethical concepts and
principles to criticize, evaluate, propose, or interpret laws. Indeed, in the last
century, many social reformers urged citizens to disobey laws in order to protest
what they regarded as immoral or unjust laws. Peaceful civil disobedience is an
ethical way of expressing political viewpoints.
Another way of defining ‘ethics’ focuses on the disciplines that study standards of
conduct, such as philosophy, theology, law, psychology, or sociology. For example, a
“medical ethicist” is someone who studies ethical standards in medicine. One may
also define ethics as a method, procedure, or perspectivefor deciding how to act
and for analyzing complex problems and issues. For instance, in considering a
complex issue like global warming, one may take an economic, ecological, political,
or ethical perspective on the problem. While an economist might examine the cost
and benefits of various policies related to global warming, an environmental ethicist
could examine the ethical values and principles at stake.
Many different disciplines, institutions, and professions have norms for behavior that
suit their particular aims and goals. These norms also help members of the discipline
to coordinate their actions or activities and to establish the public’s trust of the
discipline. For instance, ethical norms govern conduct in medicine, law, engineering,
and business. Ethical norms also serve the aims or goals of research and apply to
people who conduct scientific research or other scholarly or creative activities. There
is even a specialized discipline, research ethics, which studies these norms.
Ethics is important in promoting good, truth and avoidance of error. It promotes
the values that are essential to collaborative work, such as trust,
accountability, mutual respect, and fairness. In public life it help to ensure
that officials or governance can be held accountable to the public. It also helps to
build public support. It promote a variety of other important moral and social
values, such as social responsibility, human rights, animal welfare, compliance with
the law, and health and safety .It enhances quality and integrity.
Ethical concerns and dilemmas in public
offices
1. Theft & Fraud by Public Officials
2. Improper Use of Government Property
3. Bribery & Influence Peddling
4.Conflict of Interest & Self-dealing
5. Divulging Confidential Information
6.Improper Conduct Post-Employment
7. Immoral Conduct by Public Officials
1. Theft & Fraud by Public Officials: One of the more serious ethical issues in
government is theft of public property by public officials. Such theft can range from
the trivial, such as taking home office supplies, and stealing millions of rupees from
the public purse.
Fraud is one of the most common, and costly, forms of theft by public officials.
Often referred to as theft by deception or trickery, fraud occurs when an individual
deliberately deceives others in order to unjustly gain money, property, or services.
There are many different ways in which public officials attempt to defraud
government and taxpayers. They may, for example, submit false expense reports for
costs they did not incur, or provide inflated work invoices for services they did not
render. In the most extreme situations, public officials may participate in elaborate
schemes of deception to divert large amounts of public funds from government
programs and services into their own pockets.
2.Improper Use of Government Property: Another important issue is the use of
public property by public officials for private benefit. This would include, for
example, using one’s office telephone for personal long-distance calls, or using
government vehicles for personal transportation. Such abuses of government
property are not exactly theft. The public official is not actually stealing the office
telephone or the government vehicle. Instead, the issue concerns the purpose for
which the government property is being used. There is an expectation that
equipment and transportation will be used only for activities associated with the
performance of public duties, and not for purely personal reasons or for private
benefit.
3.Bribery & Influence Peddling: Bribery occurs when a person of authority is
offered, and accepts, some personal benefit in exchange for performing some action.
A public official may, for example, be offered money, property, or free services. In
exchange, s/he agrees to take some action that benefits the giver of the bribe, such
as voting a certain way on a piece of legislation, or turning a blind eye to some
illegal activity.
Influence peddling is a particular form of bribery in which a public official actively
sells his/her ability to influence government decision-making. Regular forms of
bribery involve a private individual or group approaching a public official and
attempting to buy interests. In the case of influence peddling, however, it is the
official him/herself approaching others in an attempt to sell access to government,
services or otherwise.
4.Conflict of Interest & Self-dealing: Conflict of interest occurs when a public
official’s private interests are such that they may influence the performance of his or
her public duties. The concern here is often the same as with bribery and influence
peddling. Public servants and elected officials are expected to exercise impartiality
and objectivity when performing their official duties, and should act in the public’s
best interests. When there is conflict of interest, however, there is a concern that
the public official may favor some interest other than the general public.
Conflict of interest arises in many different situations. Self-dealing is one of the
most obvious ones. This occurs when an individual’s activities in his/her official
capacity involve dealing with him/herself in a private capacity, often for personal
benefit. A classic example is a public official using his/her office to hire their own
private company to work for the government. The concern is that the public official
may choose his/her own company instead of other, better options available, simply
because they desire the profits from the government contract. Moreover, s/he may
be very lax in ensuring the public gets full value for its money. Concerns over
conflict of interest can also arise when public officials deal with persons with whom
they have close relations, such as family members, close friends, and business
partners. The concern here is that the public official will place the interests of this
particular individual above the greater interests of the public.
5. Divulging Confidential Information: Public servants and elected officials are
often privy to all sorts of sensitive information, such as military/security secrets or
personal information about citizens (criminal records, tax information, medical
histories). An important area of government ethics is concerned with the conduct of
public officials in regard to this sensitive information. Generally speaking, there is
often an expectation that public officials will keep this information confidential and
will not inappropriately divulge what they know.
Confidentiality can be important for different reasons, depending on the situation. In
the case of military secrets, confidentiality is often viewed as essential to the
physical security of the nation and its people. Divulging such secrets (commonly
referred to as“treason”) are considered so unethical that it is punishable by long
prison terms or even execution in some countries. In the case of personal
information, confidentiality is important to personal privacy and dignity. In many
countries individuals have the right to keep personal information private;
government officials are obliged to respect that privacy.
6.Improper Conduct Post-Employment: There are many potential issues here,
ranging from conflict of interest, to improper use of confidential information, to
bribery and influence peddling.
Prior to leaving office, for example, a public servant or elected official may grant
favours to certain individuals or groups as a means of securing future employment.
Another concern is the activities of government officials once an individual is in the
private sector. Former officials may take advantage of information s/he obtained in
performing his/her public service duties, information that is unavailable to the
general public. Such individuals may have confidential information about a future
government policy; this information could offer the former public servant a distinct
advantage in the marketplace with respect to investing, for example.
Former officials may also use their connections to gain preferential treatment or
privileged access to government after leaving office. This is particularly worrisome if
the former official joins a private lobby group and is able to use his/her connections
to gain unfair advantages for others.
7. Immoral Conduct by Public Officials: This would cover issues such as sexual
harassment, discrimination, drug abuse, and extra-marital affairs. The underlying
concern here is whether the public servant or elected official is a person of good
moral character and worthy to hold public office.
Governance Ethics
What is governance ethics? What is the importance of governance ethics?
Government ethics involves rules and guidelines about right and wrong behaviors for
a host of different groups, including elected leaders (such as the Prime Minister and
Cabinet Ministers), elected representatives (such as Members of Parliament),
political staff, and public servants.
These groups are faced with a variety of difficult and very unique ethical questions:
Should a public official be able to hire his/her own company to work for the
government? Should elected representatives be allowed to accept
expensive gifts from lobby groups? When can a public official divulge
personal information about citizens? How should public servants treat their
co-workers and subordinates?
Government ethics identifies what are correct behaviors in each of these situations
and establishes rules of conduct for public officials to follow.
Importance of government ethics: If we came to believe that politicians and
governments were generally unethical or corrupt, we might develop a strong sense
of apathy towards their democracy. This, in turn, may result in people withdrawing
from democratic participation altogether. This is often heard that: “Why bother
voting?
Government ethics can play an important role in ensuring this does not happen. By
setting out clear rules that public officials must abide by, and by holding persons
accountable when those rules are broken, we can have confidence in their elected
representatives and political system. It goes without saying that there will always be
scandals that violate ethics. However, we can take some comfort in knowing that
when unethical behavior does occur, appropriate actions are taken to punish the
person(s) responsible.
Collectively, our government at all levels is responsible for billions of rupees in
taxpayers’ money and billions more in public assets and property. Moreover,
governments are responsible for providing very important services to citizens, such
as social services, public utilities, police services, and national security. Citizens,
therefore, have a strong interest in ensuring this public money and property, as well
as services upon which they depend, are managed as efficiently and effectively as
possible. This requires taking precautions against activities that cause widespread
government waste and inefficiency.
Government ethics, properly enforced, can be a valuable means for protecting
against government waste and ensuring effective public administration. Such a code
can prohibit many of the activities that lead to waste, including theft by public
officials and use of government property for private gain. It can also address issues
such as bribery and conflicts of interest; activities that can lead public officials to
sacrifice the public interest in the administration of programs and services for
private gain and benefit.
How to make anti corruption institutions
more effective?

The State Vigilance Commissions/Lokayuktas may be empowered to
supervise the prosecution of corruption related cases.

The investigative agencies should acquire multi-disciplinary skills an
hould be thoroughly conversant with the working of various offices
departments. They should draw officials from different wings of
government .

Modern techniques of investigation should also be deployed like
electronic surveillance, video and audio recording of surprise inspections,
traps, searches and seizures.
A reasonable time limit for investigation of different types of cases should






be fixed for the investigative agencies.
There should be sustained step-up in the number of cases detected and
investigated. The priorities need to be reoriented by focussing on ‘big’
cases of corruption.
The prosecution of corruption cases should be conducted by a panel of
lawyers prepared by the Attorney General or the Advocate General in
consultation with Rashtriya Lokayukta or Lokayukta as the case may be.
The anti-corruption agencies should conduct systematic surveys of
departments with particular reference to highly corruption prone ones in
order to gather intelligence and to target officers of questionable integrity.
The Constitution should be amended to provide for a national ombudsman
to be called the Rashtriya Lokayukta. The role and jurisdiction of the
Rashtriya Lokayukta should be defined in the Constitution while the
composition, mode of appointment and other details can be decided by
Parliament through legislation.
Citizens’ Initiatives: i) Citizens’ Charters should be made effective by
stipulating the service levels and also the remedy if these service levels
are not met.ii) Citizens may be involved in the assessment and



maintenance of ethics in important government institutions and offices.iv)
Reward schemes should be introduced to incentivise citizen’s initiatives. v)
School awareness programmes should be introduced, highlighting the
importance of ethics and how corruption can be combated.
Role of Media: i)It is necessary to evolve norms and practices requiring
proper screening of all allegations/complaints by the media, and taking
action to put them in the public domain. ii) The electronic media should
evolve a Code of Conduct and a self regulating mechanism in order to
adhere to a Code of Conduct as a safeguard against malafide
action.iii) Government agencies can help the media in the fight against
corruption by disclosing details about corruption cases regularly.
Social Audit: Operational guidelines of all developmental schemes and
citizen-centric programs should provide for a social audit mechanism.
Using Information Technology: i)Each
Ministry/Department/Organization of Government should draw up a plan
for use of IT to improve governance. In any government process, use of
Information Technology should be made only after the existing procedures
have been thoroughly re-engineered. ii) offices having large public
interface should have an online complaint tracking system. If possible, this
task of complaint tracking should be outsourced. iii)There should be an
external, periodic mechanism of ‘audit’ of complaints in offices having
large public interface.
Anti corruption machinery in India
Union Government: The Administrative Vigilance Division of the Department
of Personnel & Training: It is the nodal agency for dealing with Vigilance and
Anti-corruption. Its tasks, inter alia, are to oversee and provide necessary directions
to the Government’s program of maintenance of discipline and eradication of
corruption from the public services.
Other institutions and agencies at the Union level are –
(i) The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC);
(ii) Vigilance units in the Ministries/Departments of Government of India, Central
public enterprises and other autonomous organizations;
(iii) the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Central Vigilance Commission: It was set up in 1964 on the recommendation of
Committee on Prevention of Corruption, popularly known as the Santhanam
Committee. It was accorded statutory status, consequent upon the judgment of the
Hon’ble Supreme Court in Vineet Narain v. Union of India, through the Central
Vigilance Commission Act. The CVC advises the Union Government on all matters
pertaining to the maintenance of integrity in administration. It exercises
superintendence over the working of the Central Bureau of Investigation, and also
over the vigilance administration of various Ministries and other organizations of the
Union Government.
Vigilance Units in the Government of India: All Ministries/Departments in the
Union Government have a Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) who heads the Vigilance
Division of the organization concerned, assisting and advising the Secretary or Head
of Office in all matters pertaining to vigilance. He also provides a link between his
organization and the Central Vigilance Commission on the one hand and his
organisation and the Central Bureau of Investigation on the other. Vigilance
functions performed by the CVO include collecting intelligence about corrupt
practices of the employees of his organization; investigating verifiable allegations
reported to him; processing investigation reports for further consideration of the
disciplinary authority concerned; and referring matters to the Central Vigilance
Commission for advice wherever necessary.
The Central Bureau of Investigation: It derives its powers from the Delhi Special
Police Establishment Act, 1946 (DSPE Act) to investigate certain specified offences
or classes of offences pertaining to corruption and other kinds of malpractices
involving public servants. The Special Police Establishment, which forms a division of
the Central Bureau of Investigation, has three units, viz. (i) Anti-corruption Division,
(ii) Economic Offences Wing, and (iii) Special Crimes Division. The Anti-corruption
Division investigates all cases registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act,
1988 as also cases of offences under any other sections of the IPC or other law if
committed along with offences of bribery and corruption. The Anti-corruption
Division investigates cases pertaining to serious irregularities allegedly committed by
public servants. It also investigates cases against public servants of State
Governments, if the case is entrusted to the CBI. The Special Crimes Division
investigates all cases of economic offences and conventional crimes; such as
offences relating to internal security, espionage, sabotage, narcotics and
psychotropic substances, antiquities, murders, dacoities/robberies, cheating,
criminal breach of trust, forgeries, dowry deaths, suspicious deaths and other
offences under IPC and other laws notified under Section 3 of the DSPE Act.
Vigilance Systems in State Governments: At the level of state governments,
similar vigilance and anti-corruption organizations exist, although the nature and
staffing of these organizations vary between and across state governments. While
some states have Vigilance Commissions and anti-corruption bureaus, others have
Lokayuktas.
Lokpal: The first Administrative Reforms Commission had recommended the
establishment of the institution of Lok Pal. The Lok Pal Bill has been introduced
several times but due to various reasons it has not been enacted into law. The Lok
Pal is supposed to be a watchdog over the integrity of Ministers and the Members of
Parliament. The Indian Lok Pal was intended to be similar to the institution of
Ombudsman existing in the Scandinavian countries. The institution of Ombudsman
has emerged ‘as a bulwark of democratic government against the tyranny of
officialdom’. The Lok Pal Bill provides for constitution of the Lok Pal as an
independent body to enquire into cases of corruption against public functionaries,
with a mechanism for filing complaints and conducting inquiries etc.
There are so many issues with lokpal bill : : (a) composition and manner of
appointment of the Lok Pal;
(b) whether its jurisdiction should include all public servants or only
political functionaries such as Ministers, Prime Minister and Members of Parliament;
(c) whether CVC and CBI should be brought under the Lok Pal to create a single
independent body to deal with corruption cases;
(d) whether Lok Pal’s role should be advisory or should it have powers to prosecute;
(e) whether it should have suo motu powers to investigate or would require a
written complaint; (f) whether the Prime Minister should be exempt; and
(f) whether prior sanction should be required to initiate inquiry against an MP or
Minister.
The Lokayukta: In the wake of the recommendations of the first Administrative
Reforms Commission, many State Governments enacted legislation to constitute the
Lokayukta to investigate allegations or grievances arising out of the conduct of
public servants including political executives, legislators, officers of the State
Government, local bodies, public enterprises and other instrumentalities of
Government including cooperative societies and universities.
By virtue of such legislation, a member of the public can file specific allegations with
the Lokayukta against any public servant for enquiry. It is also open to the
Lokayukta to initiate suo-motu inquiry into the conduct of public servants.
Process followed to investigate and prosecute corrupt public servants:
• The three main authorities involved in inquiring, investigating and prosecuting
corruption cases are the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) and the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Cases related to
money laundering by public servants are investigated and prosecuted by the
Directorate of Enforcement and the Financial Intelligence Unit, which are under the
Ministry of Finance.
• The CBI and state ACBs investigate cases related to corruption under the
Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The CBI’s
jurisdiction is the central government and Union Territories while the state ACBs
investigates cases within the states. States can refer cases to the CBI.
• The CVC is a statutory body that supervises corruption cases in government
departments. The CBI is under its supervision. The CVC can refer cases either to
the Central Vigilance Officer (CVO) in each department or to the CBI. The CVC or the
CVO recommends the action to be taken against a public servant but the decision to
take any disciplinary action against a civil servant rests on the department authority.
What are the gaps in India’s
anti-corruption policies and
procedures when measured
against international
standards? What needs to be
done to fill these gaps?
Corruption should be defined in a comprehensive manner in the
Prevention of Corruption Act
The following should be classified as offences under the Prevention of Corruption

Act:
i) Gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic institutions amounting to
wilful violation of oath of office.
ii) Abuse of authority unduly favouring or harming someone.
iii) Obstruction of justice.
iv) Squandering public money
Corruption by private sector which is related to public utility
services should be included under the scope of corruption in the
PCA.
i)
The Prevention of Corruption Act should be suitably amended to
include in its purview private sector providers of public utility services.

ii) Non-Governmental agencies, which receive substantial funding, should be
covered under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Legislation on the lines of the US False Claims Act should be
enacted, providing for citizens and civil society groups to seek
legal relief against fraudulent claims against the government. This
law should have the following elements:
i) Any citizen should be able to bring a suit against any person or agency for a false
claim against the government.
ii) If the false claim is established in a court of law, then the person/ agency
responsible shall be liable for penalty equal to five times the loss sustained by the
exchequer or society.
iii) The loss sustained could be monetary or non-monetary as in the form of pollution
or other social costs. In case of non-monetary loss, the court would have the
authority to compute the loss in monetary terms.
iv) The person who brought the suit shall be suitably compensated out of the
damages recovered.
Collusive Bribery :
i)Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act needs to be amended to provide for a
special offence of ‘collusive bribery’. An Offence could be classified as ‘collusive
bribery’ if the outcome or intended outcome of the transaction leads to a loss to the
state, public or public interest;

ii) In all such cases if it is established that the interest of the state or public has
suffered because of an act of a public servant, then the court shall presume that the
public servant and the beneficiary of the decision committed an offence of ‘collusive
bribery’;
iii)The punishment for all such cases of collusive bribery should be double that of
other cases of bribery. The law may be suitably amended in this regard.
How can the incidences of bribery can be cut
down?
There are different kinds of bribes. A type of bribes is that people often have to give
to get what they are legally entitled to. These should be call these ―harassment
bribes.‖ Harassment bribery is widespread in India and it plays a large role in
breeding inefficiency and has a corrosive effect on civil society.
In India, the main law concerning bribery is a 1988 legislation called the Prevention
of Corruption Act, 1988. According to this law, bribe taking by a public servant and
bribe giving are equally wrong and, in the event of conviction, both are punishable
by anywhere between 6 months and 5 years imprisonment and they shall also be
liable to fine. For the most part, the act of giving and taking a bribe are treated on
par under this law. Giving of a bribe is treated by lawyers as abetment to the crime
of bribery, and so bribe giving is covered under this section.
There is, however, an exception to the bribe giving or abetment law in the form of
section 24 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988:
“Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, a
statement made by a person in any proceeding against a public servant for an
offence under sections 7 to 11 or under section 13 or section 15, that he offered or
agreed to offer any gratification (other than legal remuneration) or any valuable
thing to the public servant, shall not subject such person to a prosecution under
section 12‖.”
However, this section has a lot of ambiguity.
Case-study:
In a case of ,Bhupinder Singh Patel v. CBI, 2008 (3) CCR 247 at p. 261 (Del):
2008 Cri LJ 4396, it was ruled that this exemption would apply only if the bribe giver
could establish that the bribe was given unwillingly and in order to get the public
servant trapped. But the word ―unwillingly‖ is itself so ambiguous that the use of
this judgment as precedence is not easy either.
As a consequence, section 24 is increasingly becoming a clause meant for those
wanting to carry out a sting operation to trap a public servant in the act of bribe
taking and seeking protection from the law. This was clear from a ruling of the Delhi
High Court in the Bharadwaj Media Private Limited v. State, 2008 146 DLT 108
(Del): 2008 (1) CCR 11: 2008 (2) Crimes 244.
So, the main concern is there is a need to declare the act of giving a bribe in cases
of harassment bribery as legitimate activity. In other words the giver of a
harassment bribe should have full immunity from any punitive action by the state.
In other words, this would amount to a revocation of section 12 in the case of
harassment bribes. In addition the law should say that once the fact of bribery is
established in court, the amount of the bribe has to be returned to the person who
gave the bribe.
One problem with the new law is the following. Once it is completely clear that a
bribe giver has immunity from our bribery law, it is true that many more people will
be willing to give bribes. However, since, every time a person gives a bribe, after
that it will be in the interest of the bribe giver to expose this act of corruption (since
by that not only will she not be punished but she will be getting back the money that
she gave as a bribe) the bribe taker will not want to take the bribe. Since the crime
of bribery cannot occur without both sides, the giver and the taker agreeing to
undertake this act, the fact of greater desire on the part of the bribe giver to give a
bribe under the new law will be of little consequence. The end result will be a sharp
decline in the incidence of bribery.
For the sake of clarity, it is not being argued here that the (harassment) bribe giver
be pardoned in retrospect. A retrospective pardon is like an amnesty; and barring
rare exceptions, amnesties are not worth it. They encourage corrupt behavior by
raising hopes of future pardon and corrodes a society‘s morals.
What is being argued is that the law should be changed, so that, at the time of
committing harassment bribery, both parties know that the giver has immunity and
that the taker not only has a heftier penalty but also has to return the bribe. If we
simply grant clemency to the bribe giver after the crime has been committed, none
of the benefits being talked about here will be achieved.
It is known that how citizens are often compelled to give a bribe; and by bringing
such practices out of the closet, the idea is not to take away the guilt from such
actions but the reverse, to discourage the very act of bribery. This legal change will
simply strengthen this kind of action, by strengthening the voice of the harassed
bribe giver and increasing the penalty on the bribe taker.
What is being argued here is that the legal amendments being suggested will not
remove all incentives to bribery. But to the extent that it does create mistrust
between the bribe giver and the taker in the post bribery situation, it means that the
comfort zone within which bribery occurs in today‘s world will cease to exist and the
upshot will be a decline in the incidence of bribery.
Challenges of corruption: a case study
OBTAINING A DRIVER’S LICENSE IN INDIA: AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH TO
STUDYING CORRUPTION
Between October 2004 and April 2005, the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
followed 822 driver’s license candidates, collecting data on whether they obtained
licenses, as well as detailed micro data on the specific procedures, time, and
expenditures involved. At the end of the process, the IFC administered an
independent surprise driving test (simulating the test that is supposed to be given
by the bureaucrats) to determine whether individuals who were granted a license
could drive.
To understand whether and how corruption affects allocation, license candidates
were randomly assigned to one of three groups:
1. Bonus group: They were offered a large financial reward if they were able
to obtain a license in 32 days (two days longer than the statutory
minimum time of 30 days).
2. Lesson group: were offered free driving lessons, to be taken immediately
after recruitment into the survey.
3. Comparison group: They were simply tracked through the process.
The bonus treatment shows whether and how the allocation of licenses responds to
willingness to pay. Is a group that is willing to pay more for licenses more likely to
get them? But also, are there more unqualified drivers receiving licenses in such a
group?
The lesson treatment allows to assess whether allocation decisions by the
bureaucracy are at all responsive to the socially most important component of this
regulatory process–one’s ability to drive.
The comparison group’s experiences already provide evidence of a distorted
bureaucratic process. Close to 71% of license getters in the comparison group did
not take the licensing exam, and 62% were unqualified to drive (according to the
independent test) at the time they obtain a license.
The experimental results highlight how these distortions respond to private
willingness to pay. While individuals in the bonus group are 24 percentage points
more likely to obtain a license than those in the comparison group, they are also 13
percentage points more likely to obtain a license without taking the legally required
driving exam, as well as 18 percentage points more likely to both obtain a license
and fail the independent driving test. In other words, a higher willingness to pay for
a license translates into an increase in the number of license getters who cannot
drive.
The lesson group is 12 percentage points more likely to obtain a license than the
comparison group. As a whole, the bonus group pay Rs 178 more in extralegal fees.
Individuals in the lesson group continue to make extralegal payments despite being
better drivers: the average extralegal payment is about the same in the lesson and
comparison groups (albeit with more licensed drivers in the lesson group).
Interestingly, they found no evidence of direct bribes to bureaucrats in any of the
groups. The extralegal payments are mainly fees to “agents,” professionals who
“assist” individuals in the process of obtaining their driver’s licenses. These agents
appear to be more than just time-saving institutions (akin to accountants embodying
knowledge of tax regulations). Instead, multiple pieces of evidence suggest that
agents institutionalize corruption.
To investigate this further, they designed a second experiment aimed exclusively at
understanding how agents affect the licensing process. Specially, trained actors were
sent to agents to elicit the feasibility of and prices for obtaining a license under
different pretexts, which corresponded to bending various official rules. They found
that agents can provide services that circumvent official rules. For example, agents
were able to procure a license despite someone’s lack of driving skills: agents
offered to procure licenses for 100% of actors who said they did not have the time
to learn how to drive. However, they cannot bend all rules as easily: rules that leave
a documentary trail (such as place-of-residence restrictions) appear harder for
agents to circumvent.
Finally, to understand why good drivers in the lesson group continue to make
extralegal payments, we studied non-experimentally the experiences of those who
try to use the formal (i.e., non-agent) channel for getting a license. Examining the
subset of participants who began the process by taking the driving test once,
they found that a substantial percentage of them (about 35%) failed and must
resort to retaking the test or hiring an agent. Most interestingly, this percentage is
unrelated to actual ability to drive: it is constant across the lesson, bonus, and
comparison groups, and it is also constant across scores on the independent driving
test. One possible interpretation of these suggestive data is that bureaucrats
arbitrarily fail test takers in order to induce them to use agents. This interpretation
is consistent with theories of “endogenous red tape,” which emphasize that many
bureaucratic hurdles might be the result of rent-seeking activities by bureaucrats.
Hence, there appear to be two paths to obtaining a driver’s license in New Delhi: the
official path and the agent path. While following the agent path involves substantial
extra costs, it ensures getting a license even without knowing how to drive, most
likely because agents make payments to bureaucrats to bend the rules. While it is
possible to obtain a license without hiring an agent, it also appears that bureaucrats
may create hurdles (red tape) to encourage the use of agents. Overall, these results
support the view that corruption in this particular setting goes beyond simple
redistribution from citizens to bureaucrats.
Conclusion:
Corruption in this study appears to undercut the very rationale for regulation:
keeping bad drivers from getting licenses. Agents play a key role in the informal
channel, as intermediaries between bureaucrats and applicants. The agent system
allows bureaucrats to avoid direct bribery, and the bureaucrats may apply arbitrary
failures on the driving exam to entice individuals to use agents. One interpretation
of the audit results is that the verifiability of a particular regulatory requirement
determines the ease with which corruption can overcome it. This suggests that the
social inefficiency results would generalize most readily to other contexts where the
socially useful part of the regulation is not verifiable by the bureaucrats’ principals.
The study illustrates two main points for future research in the corruption literature.
First, greater efforts to collect micro data are needed to penetrate the black box of
corruption. Had they run a survey simply asking individuals who had obtained
licenses by paying bribes, they might have concluded that there was no corruption
in this bureaucratic system. Instead, the detailed questions on payments and the
process of obtaining a license allowed us to isolate the central role agents play in
this system. Second, this industrial organization of corruption (e.g., around the
agent system) is intriguing and has been largely ignored by the theoretical
literature. How do agents manage to develop their contacts with the bureaucrats?
How do bureaucrats maintain their relationship with agents? Why is the provision of
agents apparently so plentiful, rather than their numbers is being restricted? Does
the agent system limit the ability of the bureaucrat to more finely price discriminate
between time-rushed and non-rushed individuals, as seems to be the case here?
These are some of the questions to explore in future work.
SERIOUS ECONOMIC OFFENCES: Economic Offences, called frauds in common
parlance have become a matter of concern because of an increasing trend both in
terms of size and complexity. The impact of some of these crimes is widespread and
can cause much damage to the economy seriously affecting the public at large and
sometimes even becoming a threat to national security.
These economic offences include tax evasion, counterfeiting, distorting share
markets, falsification of accounts, frauds in the banking system, smuggling, money
laundering, insider trading and even bribery.
There are a large number of laws governing economic offences, like Indian Penal
Code (IPC), Company act, Customs act, Income tax act etc. In a large number of
these Acts, investigations are carried out by the police. Some states have also
established Economic Offences Wings to guide such investigations. In respect of
some Central Laws, investigations are taken up by designated agencies under the
law. The Central Bureau of Investigation also takes up cases by way of referral by
other authorities or on directions by the government or the courts.
It is generally felt that the punishment provided under the existing laws is not
enough of a deterrent; as a result these offences have become a high gain low risk
activity. Economic offences are being used to fund criminal and even terrorist
activities.
Legal authority to deal with economic offence: Serious Frauds Investigation
Office (SFIO), was set up in 2003 as a specialized multi-disciplinary organisation to
deal with cases of serious corporate frauds. It has experts from the financial sector,
capital market, banks, accountancy, forensic audit, taxation, law, information
technology, company law, customs and investigation. SFIO presently carries out
investigations under the provisions of Sections 235 to 247 of the Companies Act. Its
Charter includes forwarding of its investigation reports on violations of the provisions
of other Acts to the concerned agencies for prosecution/appropriate action.
What can be further done?
 To deal with this it is necessary to strengthen existing institutions.

Strong investigation, law enforcement and judicial systems can be
effective fraud control mechanism.

Economic Offences Wing and the Cyber Crime wing in the bank are lending
specialization and expertise in dealing with frauds/crimes related to
Banking. A similar specialization and dispensation in the Judiciary will be of
immense help in trying cases of frauds in the financial system.

There is need to define ‘Serious Economic Offence’ under a statute and
prescribe deterrent punishment for it. The existing SFIO, though a positive
step, can investigate offences only under the Companies Act.
International standard against corruption can be understood by United Nations
Convention against Corruption which lays down in Article 5, some preventive
anti-corruption policies and practices. They are:
1. Each State Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal
system, develop and implement or maintain effective, coordinated anti-corruption
policies that promote the participation of society and reflect the principles of the rule
of law, proper management of public affairs and public property, integrity,
transparency and accountability.
2. Each State Party shall endeavor to establish and promote effective practices
aimed at the prevention of corruption.
3. Each State Party shall endeavor to periodically evaluate relevant legal instruments
and administrative measures with a view to determining their adequacy to prevent
and fight corruption.
States Parties shall, as appropriate and in accordance with the fundamental
principles of their legal system, collaborate with each other and with relevant
international and regional organizations in promoting and developing the measures
referred to in this Article. That collaboration may include participation in
international programs and projects aimed at the prevention of corruption.
Anti-corruption law of India is Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. It lists
offences of bribery and other related offences and the penalties from Sections 7 to
15. These offences broadly cover acceptance of illegal gratification as a motive or
reward for doing or forbearing to do any official act, or favoring or disfavoring any
person; obtaining a valuable thing without consideration or inadequate
consideration; and criminal misconduct involving receiving gratification,
misappropriation, obtaining any pecuniary advantage to any person without any
public interest, or being in possession of pecuniary resources or property
disproportionate to his known sources of income. Attempts to commit such offences
and abetment are also listed as offences, in keeping with the principles usually
applied in criminal law. The accent is thus on consideration, gratification of all kinds
and pecuniary advantage. But there is no direct definition of corrupt practices.
Challenges faced by India in combating corruption are:
1.Willful abuse of office : There are four type of willful abuse of office1. Gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic institutions, including,
willful violation of the oath of office: In some of those cases, the Supreme
Court held individuals holding high office guilty of gross misconduct
amounting to perversion of the Constitution. In such cases, except public
opinion, political pressure and dictates of the conscience of the individual,
there are no legal provisions to punish the perpetrators.
2. Abuse of authority unduly favoring or harming someone, without any
pecuniary consideration or gratification: In such cases, often partisan
interests, nepotism and personal prejudices play a role, though no
corruption is involved in the restrictive, ‘legal’ sense of the term.
Nevertheless, the damage done by such willful acts or denial of one’s due
by criminal neglect have profound consequences to society and undermine
the very framework of ethical governance and rule of law.
3. Obstruction or perversion of justice by unduly influencing law enforcement
agencies and prosecution: Again in most such cases, partisan
considerations, nepotism and prejudice, and not pecuniary gain or
gratification, may be the motive. The resultant failure of justice
undermines public confidence in the system and breeds anarchy and
violence.
4. Squandering public money, including ostentatious official life-styles: In all
such cases, there is neither private pecuniary gain nor specific gain or loss
to any citizen. There is also no misappropriation involved. The public
exchequer at large suffers and both public interest and citizens’ trust in
government are undermined.
So, to protect public interest and our democratic system all these four willful abuse
of office should be classified as offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
2.Collusive bribery : There are two types of bribery1. Coercive bribery, where the bribe giver is a victim of extortion, he is compelled to
pay for a simple service, because if he does not submit to the extortionary demands
of the public servant, he ends up losing much more than the bribe. The delays,
harassment, uncertainty, lost opportunity, loss of work and wages – all resulting
from non-compliance with demands for a bribe – are so great that the citizen is
sucked into a vicious cycle of corruption for day-to-day survival.
2. ‘Collusive bribery, where the bribe-giver and bribe-taker together fleece society
and the bribe giver is as guilty or even more guilty than the bribe-taker. These are
cases of execution of substandard works, distortion of competition, robbing the
public exchequer, commissions in public procurement, tax evasion by collusion, and
causing direct harm to people by spurious drugs and violation of safety norms.
In Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Section 7 makes acceptance of illegal
gratification by a public servant for doing any official act an offence. Though giving
bribe is not separately defined as an offence, the bribe-giver is guilty of the offence
of ‘abetment’ and is liable for the same punishment as the bribe-taker. Section 24 of
the Act, however, provides immunity from prosecution to a bribe-giver if he/she
gives a statement in a court of law that he/she offered bribe. However, the
Prevention of Corruption Act does not differentiate between ‘coercive’ and ‘collusive’
corruption.
So, it is necessary that ‘collusive’ corruption must to be dealt with by effective legal
measures so that both the bribe-giver and the bribe-taker do not escape
punishment. Also, the punishment for collusive corruption should be made more
stringent. In cases of collusive corruption, the ‘burden of proof’ should be shifted to
the accused.
3. Sanction for Prosecution: : Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act
provides that previous sanction of the competent authority is necessary before a
court takes cognizance of the offences defined under Sections 7, 10, 11, 13 and 15
of the Act. The objective of this provision is to prevent harassment to honest public
servants through malicious or vexatious complaints. This objective can well be
served if this provision is limited to such cases where the alleged misconduct is
directly connected with the discharge of official duties. But sometimes omnibus
protection given under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act comes in the
way of bringing corrupt public servants to justice as often the sanction is delayed or
denied. So, it is necessary that such a protection is not required for offences which
are basically based on the direct evidence of:
i. Demand or/and acceptance of bribes,
ii. Obtaining valuable things without or with inadequate consideration, and
iii. Cases of possession of assets disproportionate to the known source of income.
Sanctioning authority for MPs and MLAs: Section 2 (definition) of the Prevention
of Corruption Act does not explicitly include MPs or MLAs because they are not
appointed by any authority. They are elected by their constituency or by the State
Assembly and takes his or her seat on taking the oath prescribed. So, there is a
need to appoint the Presiding Officer of a House of Legislature should be designated
as the sanctioning authority for MPs and MLAs respectively by the Constitution.
There is also the requirement of prior sanction for prosecution now applicable to
serving public servants should also apply to retired public servants for acts
performed while in service.
Liability of Corrupt Public Servants to Pay Damages: While corrupt acts of a
public servant are liable for punishment under the Prevention of Corruption Act,
there is no civil liability for the wrong doer nor is there a provision for compensation
to the person/organization which has been wronged or has suffered damage because
of the misconduct of the public servant. In addition to the penalty in criminal cases,
the law should provide that public servants who cause loss to the state or citizens by
their corrupt acts should be made liable to make good the loss caused and, in
addition, be liable for damages. This could be done by inserting a chapter in the
Prevention of Corruption Act.
Speeding up Trials under the Prevention of Corruption Act: A major cause of
delay in the trial of cases is the tendency of the accused to obtain frequent
adjournments on one plea or the other. There is also a tendency on the part of the
accused to challenge almost every interim order passed even on miscellaneous
applications by the trial court, in the High Court and later, in the Supreme Court and
obtaining stay of the trial.
A legal provision needs to be introduced fixing a time limit for various stages of trial.
This could be done by amendments to the CrPC. Steps have to be taken to ensure
that judges declared as Special Judges under the provisions of the Prevention of
Corruption Act give primary attention to disposal of cases under the Act. Only if
there is inadequate work under the Act, should the Special Judges be entrusted with
other responsibilities. It has to be ensured that the proceedings of courts trying
cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act are held on a day-to-day basis, and no
deviation is permitted. The Supreme Court and the High Courts may lay down
guidelines to preclude unwarranted adjournments and avoidable delays.
Corruption in private sector
Problem of corruption:
Corruption distorts markets and creates unfair competition. Companies often pay
bribes or rig bids to win public procurement contracts. Many companies hide corrupt
acts behind secret subsidiaries and partnerships. Or they seek to influence political
decision-making illicitly. Others exploit tax laws, construct cartels or abuse legal
loopholes. Private companies have huge influence in many public spheres. These are
often crucial – from energy to healthcare. So it’s easy to see how corruption in
business harms taxpayers’ interests.
Private sector corruption calls for a three-pronged approach:
1. Companies can take internal steps to prevent it. They need a zerotolerance policy towards bribery and corruption. And it must be enforced
through specific anti-corruption measures.
2.
Companies also need an honest operating environment. So, governments
must enforce international anti-bribery laws and conventions. This protects
companies from corruption across borders and down supply chains.
Article 12 of UN Convention against Corruption, to which India is a
signatory, deals with corruption in the private sector:
1. Each State Party shall take measures, in accordance with the fundamental
principles of its domestic law, to prevent corruption involving the private sector,
enhance accounting and auditing standards in the private sector and, where
appropriate, provide effective, proportionate and dissuasive civil, administrative or
criminal penalties for failure to comply with such measures.
2. Measures to achieve these ends may include, inter alia:
(a) Promoting cooperation between law enforcement agencies and relevant private
entities;
(b) Promoting the development of standards and procedures designed to safeguard
the integrity of relevant private entities, including codes of conduct for the correct,
honorable and proper performance of the activities of business and all relevant
professions and the prevention of conflicts of interest, and for the promotion of the
use of good commercial practices among businesses and in the contractual relations
of businesses with the State;
(c) Promoting transparency among private entities, including, where appropriate,
measures regarding the identity of legal and natural persons involved in the
establishment and management of corporate entities;
(d) Preventing the misuse of procedures regulating private entities, including
procedures regarding subsidies and licenses granted by public authorities for
commercial activities;
(e) Preventing conflicts of interest by imposing restrictions, as appropriate and for a
reasonable period of time, on the professional activities of former public officials or
on the employment of public officials by the private sector after their resignation or
retirement, where such activities or employment relate directly to the functions held
or supervised by those public officials during their tenure; and
(f) Ensuring that private enterprises, taking into account their structure and size
have sufficient internal auditing controls to assist in preventing and detecting acts of
corruption and that the accounts and required financial statements of such private
enterprises are subject to appropriate auditing and certification procedures.
3. In order to prevent corruption, each State Party shall take such measures as may
be necessary, in accordance with its domestic laws and regulations regarding the
maintenance of books and records, financial statement disclosures and accounting
and auditing standards, to prohibit the following acts carried out for the purpose of
committing any of the offences established in accordance with this Convention:
(a) The establishment of off-the-books accounts;
(b) The making of off-the-books or inadequately identified transactions;
(c) The recording of non-existent expenditure;
(d) The entry of liabilities with incorrect identification of their objects;
(e) The use of false documents; and
(f) The intentional destruction of bookkeeping documents earlier than foreseen by
the law.
4. Each State Party shall disallow the tax deductibility of expenses that constitute
bribes, the latter being one of the constituent elements of the offences established in
accordance with articles 15 and 16 of this Convention and, where appropriate, other
expenses incurred in furtherance of corrupt conduct.
India:
The private sector in India accounts around 25 percent of the GDP. Public
procurement in India takes place both at the central and state level with over 35
ministries at the central level, 28 states and 7 union territories procuring
independently.
Legal framework for combating Corruption:
Important legislation exists in India, under which corruption can currently be
prevented and investigated, the Indian legal framework could be substantially
strengthened by the enactment of a series of new bills, including (i) the Public
Procurement Bill 2012, (ii) the Company Bill 2012, (iii) the Whistleblowers
Protection Bill 2011, (iv) the Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and
Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, 2011 as well as the amendment to
existing laws to include bribery in the private sector as a punishable offence.
How to strengthen of corporate integrity:
(i)
promoting a collaborative approach between law enforcement and the
private sector, (ii) training in economic crimes for law enforcement officials, (iii)
need for whistleblower programmes and external audits, especially in larger
companies, (iv) clear responsibility and accountability for integrity in the top
management as well as (v) code of conducts for employees as integral part of
contracts.
With respect to probity in procurement, specifically the public private partnership
(PPP) approach is an increasingly used procurement model. So, the enactment of
the Public Procurement Bill and the draft rules on PPP would be an important step
forward in regulating procurement under PPPs and thus promoting probity.
More awareness and sensitization is needed on ethical values and integrity. A
continuous dialogue across various sectors of society including the Government,
private sector, civil society and the media is critical. Witness protection mechanisms
as well as whistleblower policies are additional important mechanisms to strengthen
the investigation and prosecution of corrupt acts.
Corruption : an introduction
International standard against corruption can be understood by United Nations
Convention against Corruption which lays down in Article 5, some preventive
anti-corruption policies and practices. They are:
1. Each State Party shall, in accordance with the fundamental principles of its legal
system, develop and implement or maintain effective, coordinated anti-corruption
policies that promote the participation of society and reflect the principles of the rule
of law, proper management of public affairs and public property, integrity,
transparency and accountability.
2. Each State Party shall endeavor to establish and promote effective practices
aimed at the prevention of corruption.
3. Each State Party shall endeavor to periodically evaluate relevant legal instruments
and administrative measures with a view to determining their adequacy to prevent
and fight corruption.
States Parties shall, as appropriate and in accordance with the fundamental
principles of their legal system, collaborate with each other and with relevant
international and regional organizations in promoting and developing the measures
referred to in this Article. That collaboration may include participation in
international programs and projects aimed at the prevention of corruption.
Anti-corruption law of India is Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. It lists
offences of bribery and other related offences and the penalties from Sections 7 to
15. These offences broadly cover acceptance of illegal gratification as a motive or
reward for doing or forbearing to do any official act, or favoring or disfavoring any
person; obtaining a valuable thing without consideration or inadequate
consideration; and criminal misconduct involving receiving gratification,
misappropriation, obtaining any pecuniary advantage to any person without any
public interest, or being in possession of pecuniary resources or property
disproportionate to his known sources of income. Attempts to commit such offences
and abetment are also listed as offences, in keeping with the principles usually
applied in criminal law. The accent is thus on consideration, gratification of all kinds
and pecuniary advantage. But there is no direct definition of corrupt practices.
Challenges faced by India in combating corruption are:
1.Willful abuse of office : There are four type of willful abuse of office1. Gross perversion of the Constitution and democratic institutions, including,
willful violation of the oath of office: In some of those cases, the Supreme
Court held individuals holding high office guilty of gross misconduct
amounting to perversion of the Constitution. In such cases, except public
opinion, political pressure and dictates of the conscience of the individual,
there are no legal provisions to punish the perpetrators.
2. Abuse of authority unduly favoring or harming someone, without any
pecuniary consideration or gratification: In such cases, often partisan
interests, nepotism and personal prejudices play a role, though no
corruption is involved in the restrictive, ‘legal’ sense of the term.
Nevertheless, the damage done by such willful acts or denial of one’s due
by criminal neglect have profound consequences to society and undermine
the very framework of ethical governance and rule of law.
3. Obstruction or perversion of justice by unduly influencing law enforcement
agencies and prosecution: Again in most such cases, partisan
considerations, nepotism and prejudice, and not pecuniary gain or
gratification, may be the motive. The resultant failure of justice
undermines public confidence in the system and breeds anarchy and
violence.
4. Squandering public money, including ostentatious official life-styles: In all
such cases, there is neither private pecuniary gain nor specific gain or loss
to any citizen. There is also no misappropriation involved. The public
exchequer at large suffers and both public interest and citizens’ trust in
government are undermined.
So, to protect public interest and our democratic system all these four willful abuse
of office should be classified as offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
2.Collusive bribery : There are two types of bribery1. Coercive bribery, where the bribe giver is a victim of extortion, he is compelled to
pay for a simple service, because if he does not submit to the extortionary demands
of the public servant, he ends up losing much more than the bribe. The delays,
harassment, uncertainty, lost opportunity, loss of work and wages – all resulting
from non-compliance with demands for a bribe – are so great that the citizen is
sucked into a vicious cycle of corruption for day-to-day survival.
2. ‘Collusive bribery, where the bribe-giver and bribe-taker together fleece society
and the bribe giver is as guilty or even more guilty than the bribe-taker. These are
cases of execution of substandard works, distortion of competition, robbing the
public exchequer, commissions in public procurement, tax evasion by collusion, and
causing direct harm to people by spurious drugs and violation of safety norms.
In Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Section 7 makes acceptance of illegal
gratification by a public servant for doing any official act an offence. Though giving
bribe is not separately defined as an offence, the bribe-giver is guilty of the offence
of ‘abetment’ and is liable for the same punishment as the bribe-taker. Section 24 of
the Act, however, provides immunity from prosecution to a bribe-giver if he/she
gives a statement in a court of law that he/she offered bribe. However, the
Prevention of Corruption Act does not differentiate between ‘coercive’ and ‘collusive’
corruption.
So, it is necessary that ‘collusive’ corruption must to be dealt with by effective legal
measures so that both the bribe-giver and the bribe-taker do not escape
punishment. Also, the punishment for collusive corruption should be made more
stringent. In cases of collusive corruption, the ‘burden of proof’ should be shifted to
the accused.
3. Sanction for Prosecution: : Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act
provides that previous sanction of the competent authority is necessary before a
court takes cognizance of the offences defined under Sections 7, 10, 11, 13 and 15
of the Act. The objective of this provision is to prevent harassment to honest public
servants through malicious or vexatious complaints. This objective can well be
served if this provision is limited to such cases where the alleged misconduct is
directly connected with the discharge of official duties. But sometimes omnibus
protection given under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act comes in the
way of bringing corrupt public servants to justice as often the sanction is delayed or
denied. So, it is necessary that such a protection is not required for offences which
are basically based on the direct evidence of:
i. Demand or/and acceptance of bribes,
ii. Obtaining valuable things without or with inadequate consideration, and
iii. Cases of possession of assets disproportionate to the known source of income.
Sanctioning authority for MPs and MLAs: Section 2 (definition) of the Prevention of
Corruption Act does not explicitly include MPs or MLAs because they are not
appointed by any authority. They are elected by their constituency or by the State
Assembly and takes his or her seat on taking the oath prescribed. So, there is a
need to appoint the Presiding Officer of a House of Legislature should be designated
as the sanctioning authority for MPs and MLAs respectively by the Constitution.
There is also the requirement of prior sanction for prosecution now applicable to
serving public servants should also apply to retired public servants for acts
performed while in service.
Liability of Corrupt Public Servants to Pay Damages: While corrupt acts of a
public servant are liable for punishment under the Prevention of Corruption Act,
there is no civil liability for the wrong doer nor is there a provision for compensation
to the person/organization which has been wronged or has suffered damage because
of the misconduct of the public servant. In addition to the penalty in criminal cases,
the law should provide that public servants who cause loss to the state or citizens by
their corrupt acts should be made liable to make good the loss caused and, in
addition, be liable for damages. This could be done by inserting a chapter in the
Prevention of Corruption Act.
Speeding up Trials under the Prevention of Corruption Act: A major cause of
delay in the trial of cases is the tendency of the accused to obtain frequent
adjournments on one plea or the other. There is also a tendency on the part of the
accused to challenge almost every interim order passed even on miscellaneous
applications by the trial court, in the High Court and later, in the Supreme Court and
obtaining stay of the trial.
A legal provision needs to be introduced fixing a time limit for various stages of trial.
This could be done by amendments to the CrPC. Steps have to be taken to ensure
that judges declared as Special Judges under the provisions of the Prevention of
Corruption Act give primary attention to disposal of cases under the Act. Only if
there is inadequate work under the Act, should the Special Judges be entrusted with
other responsibilities. It has to be ensured that the proceedings of courts trying
cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act are held on a day-to-day basis, and no
deviation is permitted. The Supreme Court and the High Courts may lay down
guidelines to preclude unwarranted adjournments and avoidable delays.
Corruption : an introduction
Ethics is a set of standards that society places on itself and which help guide
behavior, choices and actions. Standards do not, by themselves, ensure ethical
behavior; that requires a robust culture of integrity. The crux of ethical behavior
does not lie in bold words and expressions enshrined as standards, but in their
adoption in action, in sanctions against their violations, in putting in place competent
disciplinary bodies to investigate allegations of violations and impose sanctions
quickly and in promoting a culture of integrity.
Corruption is an important manifestation of the failure of ethics. The word ‘corrupt’
is derived from the Latin word ‘corruptus’, meaning ‘to break or destroy’. The word
‘ethics’ is from the original Greek term ethikos, meaning ‘arising from habit’. It is
unfortunate that corruption has, for many, become a matter of habit, ranging from
grand corruption involving persons in high places to retail corruption touching the
everyday life of common people. Corruption is so deeply entrenched in the system
that most people regard corruption as inevitable and any effort to fight it as futile.
This cynicism is spreading so fast that it bodes ill for our democratic system itself.
There are two, somewhat contrary, approaches in dealing with corruption and
abuse of office.
1. Overemphasis on values and character: Many people lament the decline in
values and the consequent rise in corruption. The implicit assumption is
that until values are restored, nothing much can be done to improve the
conduct of human beings.
2. The second approach is based on the belief that most human beings are
fundamentally decent and socially conscious, but there is always a small
proportion of people, which cannot reconcile individual goals with the good
of society. Such deviant people tend to pursue personal gain at the cost of
public good and the purpose of organized government is to punish such
deviant behavior. If good behavior is consistently rewarded and bad
behavior consistently punished, the bulk of the people follow the straight
and narrow path. However, if good behavior is not only not rewarded, but
is actually fraught with difficulties and bad behavior is not only not
punished, but is often extravagantly rewarded, then the bulk of the people
tend to stray from the honorable path.
Values and Institutions: Values are needed to serve as guiding stars, and they
exist in abundance in our society. A sense of right and wrong is intrinsic to our
culture and civilization. But values need to be sustained by institutions to be durable
and to serve as an example to others. Values without institutional support will soon
be weakened and dissipated. Institutions provide the container, which gives shape
and content to values. This is the basis of all statecraft and laws and institutions.
While incentives and institutions matter for all people, they are critical in dealing
with the army of public servants – elected or appointed – endowed with authority to
make decisions and impact on human lives and exercising the power to determine
allocation of resources. Public office and control over public purse offer enormous
temptation and opportunity to promote private gain at public cost. Therefore,
creation of institutions and designing of incentives are of utmost importance in
promoting ethical conduct of public servants.
Corruption and Abuse of office: Corruption and abuse of office has been
aggravated by three factors:
1. There is a colonial legacy of unchallenged authority and propensity to
exercise power arbitrarily. In a society which worships power, it is easy for
public officials to deviate from ethical conduct.
2. There is enormous asymmetry of power in our society. Nearly 90% of our
people are in the unorganized sector. Quite a number of them lead a
precarious existence, depending on subsistence wages with no job
security. And nearly 70% of the organized workers with job security and
regular monthly wage are employed by the state directly or through public
sector undertakings. Almost all these employees are ‘educated’ in a largely
illiterate and semi-literate society and economically even the lowliest of
public servants are better off than most people in the country. What is
more, their employment in government comes with all the trappings of
power. Such asymmetry of power reduces societal pressure to conform to
ethical behavior and makes it easy to indulge in corruption.
3.
As a conscious choice, the Indian state in the early decades after
Independence chose a set of policies whose unintended consequence was
to put the citizen at the mercy of the State. Over regulation, severe
restrictions on economic activity, excessive state control, near-monopoly
of the government in many sectors and an economy of scarcity all created
conditions conducive to unbridled corruption. In addition, many state
subsidies and beneficiary-oriented programs in a situation of asymmetry of
power converted the public servant into patron and master and reduced
most citizens into mendicants. This at once enhanced opportunities to
indulge in corruption and reduced the citizens’ capacity to resist
extortionary demands.
A factor which increases corruption: Over-centralization: The more remotely
power is exercised from the people, the greater is the distance between authority
and accountability. The large number of functionaries between the citizen and final
decision-makers makes accountability diffused and the temptation to abuse
authority strong. For a large democracy, India probably has the smallest number of
final decision makers. Local Government is not allowed to take root and power has
been concentrated both horizontally and vertically in a few hands. The net results
are weakened citizenry and mounting corruption.
How to hold authority to account in Democracy?
Every democracy requires the empowerment of citizens in order to hold those in
authority to account. Right to Information, effective citizens’ charters, opportunity
and incentives to promote proactive approach of citizens, stake-holders’ involvement
in delivery of public services, public consultation in decision making and social
auditing are some of the instruments of accountability that dramatically curbed
corruption and promoted integrity and quality of decision making.
Role of state and a system of laws exist in order to enforce compliance and
promote desirable behavior: Enforcement of rule of law and deterrent
punishment against corruption are critical to build an ethically sound society. A
detailed analysis of our anti-corruption mechanisms and the causes of their failure is
necessary in order to strengthen the forces of law and deter the corrupt public
servants.
Most important determinant of the integrity of a society or the prevalence
of corruption: Quality of politics: If politics attracts and rewards men and women
of integrity, competence and passion for public good, then the society is safe and
integrity is maintained. But if honesty is incompatible with survival in politics, and if
public life attracts undesirable and corrupt elements seeking private gain, then
abuse of authority and corruption become the norm. In such a political culture and
climate, desirable initiatives will not yield adequate dividends. Competition and
decentralization certainly reduce corruption in certain sectors. But if the demand for
corruption is fueled by inexhaustible appetite for illegitimate funds in politics, then
other avenues of corruption will be forcibly opened up. As a result, even as
corruption declines in certain areas, it shifts to other, sometimes more dangerous,
areas in which competition cannot be introduced and the state exercises a natural
monopoly. What is needed with liberalization is corresponding political and
governance reform to alter the incentives in politics and public office and to promote
integrity and ethical conduct.
Promote a culture of zero tolerance of corruption: All forms of corruption are
reprehensible and we need to promote a culture of zero tolerance of corruption. But
some forms of corruption are much more pernicious than others and deserve closer
attention. In a vast majority of cases of bribery, the citizen is a victim of extortion
and is compelled to pay a bribe in order to get a service to which he is entitled.
Experience has taught most citizens that there is a vicious cycle of corruption
operating and they often end up losing much more by resisting corruption. Delays,
harassment, lost opportunity, loss of precious time and wages, uncertainty and, at
times, potential danger of loss of life or limb could result from resistance to
corruption and non-compliance with demands. In such cases, the citizen is an
unwilling victim of coercive corruption. But there are several cases of collusion
between the bribe giver and corrupt public servant. In such cases of collusive
corruption, both parties benefit at immense cost to society. Awarding of contracts
for public works and procurement of goods and services, recruitment of employees,
evasion of taxes, substandard projects, collusive violation of regulations,
adulteration of foods and drugs, obstruction of justice and concealing or doctoring
evidence in investigation are all examples of such dangerous forms of corruption. As
the economy is freed from state controls, extortionary corruption declines and
collusive corruption tends to increase. We need to fashion strong and effective
instruments to deal with this growing menace of collusive corruption, which is
undermining the very foundations of our democracy and endangering society.
Corruption is a global phenomenon: The United Nations Convention against
Corruption was adopted by the UN General Assembly in October 2003, providing an
international instrument against corruption. The ADBOECD Anti-Corruption Action
Plan, which has been signed by the Government of India, is a broad understanding
to further the cause of inter-regional cooperation in the matter of prevention of
corruption. The World Bank has also declared war against corruption by refusing to
fund projects whose implementation is tainted by corrupt practices. At the annual
meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Singapore
in 2006, a joint statement was issued with major multilateral financial institutions
agreeing on a framework for preventing and combating fraud and corruption in the
activities and operations of their institutions.
In India, some anti-corruption initiatives: The Supreme Court has ruled that
candidates contesting elections should file details regarding their wealth, educational
qualifications and criminal antecedents along with their nomination papers. The
Right to Information Act, which has recently been enacted, is a potent weapon to
fight corruption. The introduction of information communication technologies, egovernance initiatives and automation of corruption prone processes in
administration have succeeded in reducing corruption.
The escalating levels of corruption: Much more remains to be done however,
and beyond the realm of existing regulation. The escalating levels of corruption in
various segments of our economy resulting in large scale generation of black money,
serious economic offences and fraud, and money laundering leading even to the
funding of terrorist activities against the State, have created a grave situation which
needs to be dealt with severely. Benami properties of corrupt public servants need
to be forfeited, as also the assets illegally acquired from corrupt practices. Whistleblower legislation has to be put in place to protect informants against retribution.
Also, we have to suitably strengthen the institutional framework for investigating
corrupt practices and awarding exemplary punishment to the corrupt thereby raising
the risk associated with corrupt behavior.
Ethics and governance: Ethics in governance, however, has a much wider import
than what happens in the different arms of the government. An across-the-board
effort is needed to fight deviations from ethical norms. Such an effort needs to
include corporate ethics and ethics in business; in fact, there should be a paradigm
shift from the pejorative ‘business ethics’ to ‘ethics in business’. There is need for
ethics in every profession, voluntary organization and civil society structure as these
entities are now vitally involved in the process of governance. Finally, there should
be ethics in citizen behavior, because such behavior impinges directly on ethics in
government and administration.
Ethics in Public Administration and Probity in
Governance
Issue of corruption on our polity , economy and society in general is a matter of
concern and is a hurdle in the way of a strong and prosperous India. In our quest for
prosperity and equity Elimination of corruption is not only a moral imperative but an
economic necessity for a nation aspiring to catch up with the rest of the world.
Improved governance is the need of time. Governance can be improved by nonexpropriation, contract enforcement, and decrease in bureaucratic delays and
elimination of corruption can raise the GDP growth rate significantly. The six
perceived governance quality measures are: 1. voice and accountability; 2. absence
of political instability and violence; 3.government effectiveness; 4. reasonableness
of the regulatory burden; 5.the rule of law; and 6. the absence of graft.
Ethical governance is necessary. In the context of ethical governance the last two
are the most directly significant: 1. ‘Rule of law’ measures whether crime is properly
punished or not; enforceability of contracts; extent of black market; enforceable
rights of property; extent of tax evasion; judiciary’s independence; ability of
business and people to challenge government action in courts etc.
A comprehensive examination of the entire corpus of administrative
jurisprudence is necessary to to rationalize and simplify the procedures. There is
a perception that the public services have remained largely exempt from the
imposition of penalties due to the complicated procedures that have arisen out of
the Constitutional guarantee against arbitrary and vindictive action. Those
Constitutional safeguards have in practice shielded the guilty against the swift and
certain punishment for abuse of public office for private gain. A major corollary has
been the erosion of accountability. The huge body of jurisprudential precedents has
crowded out the real intent of Article 311, and created a heap of roadblocks in
reducing corruption. Such a provision is not available in any of the democratic
countries including the UK. While the honest have to be protected, the dishonest
seem to corner the full benefit of Article 311.
Integrity is necessary. Integrity is much more than financial honesty. Public office
should be treated as a trust. There are two facets to corruption: (1) the institution
which is highly corrupt; (2) individuals who are highly corrupt. There is a need to
work on public profiteering and also value to be attributed to the services rendered
by officers. Interlocking accountability is a process by which evaluation could be
done easily and accountability ensured.
Building trust and confidence in public is most desirable thing. Building trust
and confidence requires an environment where there is a premium on transparency,
openness, boldness, fairness and justice. Clearly, the absence of rules is not the
problem. One cannot mandate honesty. The rule of law can only defeat the perverse
mind. However, it cannot defeat the perversity of the heart. When the ruler himself
is right, the people naturally follow him in his right course. If governance is by men
who are derelict, the governed will suffer. Administrators have to keep in
mind Plato’s injunction:
“The punishment suffered by the wise who refuse to take part in
government, is to suffer under the government of bad men”.
Ensuring stability and harmony must be done. Good governance must be
founded on moral virtues ensuring stability and harmony. Confucius described
righteousness as the foundation of good governance and peace. The art of good
governance simply lies in making things right and putting them in their right
place. Confucius’s prescription for good governance is ideally suited for a country
like India where many of our present day players in governance do not adhere to
any principle and ensure only their own interests.
Confucius emphasizes the righteousness for life and character building. This is in
conformity with Dharma or righteousness as taught by all religions in the world and
preached in Buddhism very predominantly in its fourth noble truth. He also
emphasizes that man himself must become righteous and then only there shall be
righteousness in the world. This is comparable with what Gandhiji said, “Be the
change you wish to see in the world”.
So, it is a question of ethics. Ethics is a set of standards that helps guide conduct.
One of the problems is that the present codes of conduct are not direct and to the
point. They are full of vague sermons that rarely indicate prohibitions directly. For
formulating a code of ethics, it would be useful to keep in mind the advice of
Napoleon who said, ‘Law should be so succinct that it can be carried in the pocket of
the coat and it should be so simple that it can be understood by a peasant’.
While it may not always be possible to establish the criminal offence of
misappropriation in a court of law, the Government servant can still be removed
from service for causing serious monetary loss to the State. An engineer may have
deliberately permitted the construction of a defective irrigation dam or building. It
may not be possible to get him convicted in court on charges of corruption but he
could be removed from service on grounds of incompetence. A tax official may have
connived to allow the leakage of revenue for return favours in the future. Such
conduct may not provide the ingredients of a criminal offence but can lead to his exit
from service.
The standard for probity in public life should be not only conviction in a criminal
court but propriety as determined by suitable independent institutions specifically
constituted for the purpose. We have broadly copied the British model of
governance. Ministers in Tony Blair’s government have had to resign on such minor
improprieties as a telephone call to the concerned person to fast track the issue of a
visa for the ‘nanny’ of the Minister’s child or the grant of British citizenship to a
generous contributor to a cause supported by the Government. Such principles were
upheld and pronounced by Jawaharlal Nehru in the Mudgal case in which the
said Lok Sabha Member was expelled by Parliament on 24th September, 1951 even
when the Member volunteered to resign. The Mudgal case is often cited as the
noblest example of the early leadership’s efforts at setting high standards of conduct
in parliamentary life.
There is need to reverse the slide by prescribing stringent standards of
probity in public life instead of providing shelter to public figures of suspect
integrity behind the argument of their not having been convicted in a court. The
standard should be one of not only the conducts of Caesar’s wife but of Caesar
himself.
The solution to the problem of corruption has to be more systemic than any
other issue of governance. Merely shrinking the economic role of the state by
resorting to deregulation, liberalization and privatization is not necessarily the
solution to addressing the problem. Prevalent institutional arrangements have to be
reviewed and changes made where those vested with power are made accountable,
their functioning made more transparent and subjected to social audit with a view to
minimize discretionary decisions. All procedures, laws and regulations that breed
corruption and come in the way of efficient delivery system will have to be
eliminated. The perverse system of incentives in public life, which makes corruption
a high return low risk activity, need to be addressed. In this context, public example
has to be made out of people convicted on corruption charge and the legal process
in such cases has to be expedited. This hopefully, will also address the growing
permissiveness in the society, in the more recent times, to the phenomenon of
corruption. In addition, with changes in economic policy regime, regulatory bodies
that guide and monitor the functioning of the relevant economic agents, lay down
the rules of conduct in the interest of consumers and devise such practices that help
in efficient functioning of the system, will have to be established in many sectors of
the economy that are now being opened up. At the same time, social monitoring
through empowered autonomous and credible structures will have to be established
even for the highest of the public offices. Right to information has to be the starting
point for some of these changes.
The focus should be on e-governance and systemic change. An honest system of
governance will displace dishonest persons. As Gladstone so aptly said, “The
purpose of a government is to make it easy for people to do good and difficult to do
evil”.
Blame game should be end.The executive/civil services blame interference by the
political executive or legislatures and vice versa; legislators blame the judiciary and
vice versa – the main problem lies in each one leaving space for others to occupy. If
any of the democratic institutions leaves space, the mafia or extra-constitutional
authority occupies that space. Realization of its own authority and discharging its
sphere of responsibility, developing accountability and responsiveness are the real
solutions to the conflicting situations of eroding democratic polity.
Decline in the standards of behavior of
Member of parliaments
There can be no single remedy for it. The ethical questions cannot be dealt with
entirely by legislation. These are mainly matters of one’s conscience. Only
prescribing a Code of Conduct the problem cannot be solved. However, the Code of
Conduct, like many of them in different countries, could help in evolving certain
standard norms of behavior which everyone intending to enter a legislature is
expected to follow.
Apart from prescribing a Code of Conduct for members, people should also be
educated not to elect persons with “dubious distinction”. Political parties and their
leaders also can play a crucial role in ensuring probity in public life by
denying tickets to persons who are criminals, corrupt or have anti-social
proclivities.
There is a emerging trend of cross-voting in the elections for Rajya Sabha and the
Legislative Councils in States. It is often alleged that large sums of money and other
considerations encourage the electorate for these two bodies to vote in a particular
manner leading sometimes to the defeat of the official candidates belonging to their
own political party. In order not to allow big money and other considerations to play
mischief with the electoral process, it is necessary that instead of secret ballot, the
question of holding the elections to Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Councils in
States by open ballot may be examined.
In order to make the electoral process transparent it is necessary for the political
parties and the Government to bring about the much desired though delayed
electoral reforms for cleansing public life.
This is observed that the general apathy amongst people about their elected
representatives. Behavior and activities of some of the legislators inside and outside
the House have eroded the credibility of legislative institutions to a dangerous
level. The Committee emphasizes the urgent need for restoring credibility of
people’s representatives and dignity of the people’s institutions.
There is a serious concern over the increasing trend of disorderly proceedings in
legislatures. Behaviors of some of the members inside the House lead to
interruptions of its proceedings. Frequent interruptions of the proceedings of the
House due to undisciplined behavior of some of the members put an avoidable
financial burden on the national exchequer which our economy could ill-afford.
Despite the existence of a body of rules which is adequate to deal with incidences
of indiscipline in the House, still there are occasions when members defy the
Chair. It is a matter of the concern in the resolution adopted at the Special sitting of
Rajya Sabha on the occasion of the Fifty Years of Independence held on the
1st September, 1997 in this regard and calls upon the leaders of political parties to
cooperate effectively with the Presiding Officers of the legislatures in enforcing
discipline. They should enthuse their members to faithfully adhere to the norms of
discipline and decorous behavior in the House.
The Government too has its share of responsibility for ensuring the smooth
functioning of the House. In a parliamentary set up, while the Government has its
way, the Opposition should have its say. The Government, therefore, has to be
more responsive and accommodating towards the Opposition in allowing it to raise
matters of urgent public importance in the House and the Opposition in turn be
aware of its joint responsibility with the Government to the people of this country to
ensure that proceedings in the House are conducted uninterruptedly in accordance
with the rules, established procedures and conventions of the House.
Necessity of Ethics in parliament
Over the years, the face of the Indian Parliament has undergone a dramatic
transformation reflecting the socio-political development of the nation as a whole.
This has been so particularly in the case of the Lok Sabha, the popularly elected
House, which, in effect, connotes the changing profile of the Indian electorate too.
To begin with, one finds that the number of political parties represented in the Lok
Sabha has been on the rise, especially in recent years. This corresponds with the
proliferation of political parties and the fragmentation of mainline political parties
and the emergence of regional parties. Mergers and splits of political parties have
become a recurring phenomenon in India’s electoral politics.
With successive Lok Sabhas, the educational background of its members has
also changed considerably. Though our Constitution does not stipulate any formal
educational qualification for members of Parliament, it cannot be denied that
educational accomplishments have a bearing on the behavior of a person while
conducting himself or herself in a public forum and the general trend in this regard
shows that electors have favoured those who have had basic education and who
could thereby articulate their problems and grievances more effectively in the
supreme legislative organ of the land. The occupational background of the
members has also been changing with the Lok Sabhas over the decades. In the First
Lok Sabha, members with legal background outnumbered those belonging to other
professions. Now in the Lok Sabha, they were relegated to the third position behind
political and social workers and agriculturists. This indeed is ample proof of a
changing approach and attitude of the electorate in choosing their representatives.
Their preference perhaps is indicative of the fact that they intend to send to
Parliament representatives who are grassroot workers, fully conversant with their
problems, and who could place them before the national Government for early and
expeditious redressal.
To play a meaningful role as members, it is necessary for them to have a proper
perspective of the place of Parliament in our polity. As is said, Parliament is not a
talking shop. It is visualized by the Constitution as an important instrument of
socio-economic change. As such, it has to closely watch the functioning of the
Government and influence its performance for social good. How do members
articulate their views? In our Parliament, there are a number of devices available for
members to raise matters of concern and they should make full use of it. While
doing so, they should bear in mind that Parliament is not the forum to raise issues
that are basically the concerns of State Governments for which the Legislative
Assemblies are the proper fora. The issues raised in Parliament should have a
wider significance to the society and the nation at large.Members must make
full use of all the available opportunities and participate actively in the legislative,
financial and other business of the House, bringing to bear their special knowledge,
experience and insights in the shaping of public policy and contributing their share in
the oversight and scrutiny of performance of the Government and redressal of public
grievances.
The image of the Parliament and its credibility as a representative institution
largely depend on the role and functions of its members. The functioning of
Parliament is a serious business and it ought to be conducted with a degree of
dignity, decorum, and sincerity. Maintenance of order in the House is the
fundamental duty of the Speaker. He is not only the moderator and facilitator of the
sittings of the House, but is also the authority invested with the responsibility to help
frame sound rules, practices, customs and conventions and thereby to evolve a
healthy parliamentary culture. The Speaker derives his disciplinary powers from the
Rules. He may, in his discretion, intervene when a member makes an unwarranted
or defamatory remark by asking him to withdraw that remark or order the
expunction of any defamatory or indecent words used in the debate. The Speaker
may also order a member guilty of disorderly conduct to withdraw from the House,
and name a member for suspension if the member disregards the authority of the
Chair and persists in obstructing the proceedings of the House in case of grave
disorder.
The proceedings, at times, become noisy leading to pandemonium and
turmoil. . Members should refrain from the tendency to rush to the well of the
House, raise slogans and create unruly scenes. As mentioned earlier, a lot of
precious time of the House is wasted this way. It is equally important that members
must imbibe the etiquette of Parliament. In the heat of the moment when passions
run high, members sometimes tend to use unparliamentarily language. There is, of
course, a practice to expunge such remarks from records but it has to be borne in
mind that with live telecasting, such exp-unction becomes in fructuous as people
would have already heard it. There are several cases of this, some of them are :
Case-1 On 18 February 1963, five members of Parliament created disorder at the
time of the President’s Address to members of both the Houses of Parliament
assembled together. The next day, a Committee was appointed by the Speaker to
report to the House of the disorderly conduct of the members. The Committee, in
their report, recommended that for any disorderly conduct by a member during the
President’s Address, he may be suspended from the service of the House for a
period which may extend upto one year. Replying to the discussion on the report of
the Committee, Pandit Nehru remarked:
“The sole question before us is–it is a highly important one and vital onewhat rules and conventions we should establish for carrying on the work of this
Parliament with dignity and effectiveness… Parliament is supposed not only to act
correctly but lay down certain principles and conventions of decorous behaviour.
Case-2 In 1971, when the President started reading his Address to both the
Houses of Parliament, a member of Lok Sabha interrupted him and created disorder.
The Committee constituted to look into the matter held the member’s conduct
improper and inconsistent with the dignity of the occasion. The Committee
formulated certain guidelines for the conduct of members and maintenance of order,
dignity and decorum on the occasion of the President’s Address. Over the years, on
the basis of well-established parliamentary practices, certain rules of
conduct, norms of behavior and conventionshave developed for legislators in
their functioning in the House, in Parliamentary Committees, during President’s
Address, their functioning outside the House, etc.
The imperative for maintaining discipline and decorum in the Parliamentcan
hardly be over-emphasized. Incidents of pandemonium and unruly scenes have been
a matter of concern to all those connected with the working of parliamentary
institutions–be it the Presiding Officers, the Leader of the House, the Leader of
Opposition, Leaders of Political Parties, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Whips or
members.
In 1992, a two-day All-India Conference of Presiding Officers, Leaders of
Parties, Ministers of Parliamentary Affairs, Whips, Parliamentarians, Legislators and
Senior Officers of Parliament and State Legislatures was held in New Delhi to dwell
on many related aspects of the functioning of parliamentary institutions such as
disorders and disturbances during the President’s and Governor’s Address,
suspension of Question Hour, the so-called ‘Zero-Hour’, number of sittings, training
of legislators, code of conduct for members, etc. The basic and unequivocal
concern of the participants was effective use of the time of the House,
orderly conduct of the business of the House and ways and means to make
the Executive more responsive to the grievances of the people. The
Conference unanimously adopted a Resolution reflecting the consensus. The
resolution inter-alia stressed that with a view to preserving the democratic and
secular fabric and strengthening the parliamentary institutions, it was necessary for
the members to maintain decorum and dignity at the time of the
President’s/Governor’s Address; to utilise fully and effectively the Question time as a
well-established device to ensure accountability of the Executive; and to observe the
Rules of Procedure in order to maintain order and decorum in the House. The
Resolution also emphasised that the political parties should evolve a code of conduct
for their legislators and ensure its observance by them.
The Special Session of Parliament to mark the Golden Jubilee of India’s
Independence, held from 26 August to 1 September 1997, unanimously adopted a
Resolution which inter alia emphasizes:
That the prestige of the Parliament be preserved and enhanced, also by
conscious and dignified conformity to the entire regime of Rules of Procedure and
Conduct of Business of the Houses and Directions of the Presiding Officers relating to
orderly conduct of business, more especially by,
– maintaining the inviolability of the Question Hour,
– refraining from transgressing into the official areas of the House, or from
any shouting of slogans, and
– invariably desisting from any efforts at interruption or interferences with
the Address of the President of the Republic.
Maintenance of discipline and decorum, therefore, is a pre-requisite for the
smooth functioning of our parliamentary democracy. It is in this context that
the concept of ethics and standards for parliamentarians assumes relevance and
significance. In March 1997, the Rajya Sabha constituted an Ethics Committee to
oversee the moral and ethical conduct of the members and to examine the cases
referred to it. During the life of the Eleventh Lok Sabha, a Study Group of the
Committee of Privileges undertook a study of parliamentary privileges, ethics and
related matters. The Report of the Study Group on Ethics, Standards in Public
Life, Privileges, Facilities to Members and Other Related Matters, as adopted
by the Committee of Privileges and presented to the Twelfth Lok Sabha,
recommended broad parameters to be incorporated in the Rules of Procedure of Lok
Sabha for dealing with complaints relating to the unbecoming conduct of a member
or his unethical behaviour. As an elected representative of the people, a member’s
status is an exalted one. While privileges are given to members to enable them to
perform their parliamentary duties unfettered, these privileges also entail certain
obligations. A dignified conduct is one of the primary obligations of a member of
Parliament.
All the political parties should find ways to improve the quality of member’s
participation in parliamentary proceedings and to ensure that members conduct
themselves in a dignified and decorous manner. As elsewhere, training is necessary
for them to understand the subtleties and nuances of parliamentary democracy.
There is an urgent need for imparting political education to new members, either by
the political parties themselves or through some other mechanism as may be
evolved on the basis of consensus. As far as procedural training is concerned, the
Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training of the Lok Sabha Secretariat organises
Orientation Programmes in Parliamentary Practices and Procedures for new
members.
In a parliamentary system of government, parliamentarians play a vital role. The
image of democracy as a form of Government depends upon the Parliament and the
image of Parliament, in turn, depends upon the image of its parliamentarians.
Infact, the future of the democratic set-up itself depends upon the way the
parliamentarians discharge their duties and responsibilities. Once elected, they are
representatives not only of their constituency but of the State and the nation as a
whole. Hence, their behaviour and actions inside the House as well as outside have
a great bearing and impact on the national situation.
1. Indian Parliament reflects socio-economic development of our
nation as a whole.
2. Parliamentarian must have a proper perspective to play a
meaningful role for socio-economic development of our country.
The issues raised in Parliament should have a wider significance to
the society and the nation at large.
3. To maintain its credibility.
4. The proceedings, at times, become noisy leading to pandemonium
and turmoil. A lot of precious time of the House is wasted this way.
It is equally important that members must imbibe the etiquette of
Parliament. With live telecasting, such exp-unction becomes in
fructuous as people would have already heard it.
5. Effective use of the time of the House, orderly conduct of the
business of the House and ways and means to make the Executive
more responsive to the grievances of the people.
6. Preserving the democratic and secular fabric and strengthening
the parliamentary institutions.
7. To utilise fully and effectively the Question time as a wellestablished device to ensure accountability of the Executive;
8. To observe the Rules of Procedure in order to maintain order and
decorum in the House.
9. Refraining from transgressing into the official areas of the House,
or from any shouting of slogans, invariably desisting from any
efforts at interruption or interferences with the Address of the
President of the Republic.
10. For the smooth functioning of our parliamentary democracy.