1

Dharma is the source of wellness of the people

Artha is the key requirement of Dharma
Rajyam i.e. good governance is the key to wealth..

- Chanakayasutra

********

Be courteous and tactful as well as honest and diligent.

All your doings are publicly known, and must therefore
Be beyond complaint or criticism. Be absolutely impartial.
Always give a reason for refusing a plea; complainants
Like a kindly hearing even more than a successful
Plea. Preserve dignity but avoid inspiring fear.

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Be an artist in words that you may be strong, for

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The tongue is a sword
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* Pharaohs commandments to the Egyptian Civil Service As quoted in Sir Ernest Gowers The
al
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Complete Plain Words A Pelican Book 1972.

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2
Extracts from the judgment of Prof M. Sridhar Acharyulu (Madabhushi Sridhar) Information
Commissioner in Sanjiv Chaturvedi v Ministry of Environment & Forests, and Intelligence Bureau,
Government of India No. CIC/SA/C/2016/000089 dated 21.04.2016

Para 35. In this context, the Commission finds it relevant to reproduce the poem of bravery and
honesty by the Poet Laureate, Vishwa Kavi, who penned national anthem, Rabindranath Tagore,
more appropriately quoted in Indian Medical Association vs. Union of India and others
[(2011)7SCC 179] to say that honesty should never be punished and corrupt rewarded:

WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow
domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary

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desert sand of dead habit;

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Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and gm
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action-
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Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

al
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(d
ah

- Rabindranath Tagore 1861-1941

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3
 In every country, Ministers come and go but the steel frame of
the permanent services remains. It is the permanent services who really
rule in every country.
-
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
Presidential Address at the Haripura Session of the
All India Congress Committee - Feb 19, 1938

********
OECD describes Senior Civil Service (SCS) as

a structured and recognized system of personnel for the higher non-political

positions in government. It is a career civil service providing people to be
competitively appointed to functions that cover policy advice, operational delivery
or corporate service delivery. The service is centrally managed through
appropriate institutions and procedures, in order to provide stability and
professionalism of the core group of senior civil servants, but also allowing the
necessary flexibility to match changes in the composition of Government by using
appropriate due processes.

********

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Indians are most conservative of what they consider their rights. I think every

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man who goes to India knows that one of the very first words he hears about is
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Hukk which is a very sacred word to the Indiansit means right. Everyman
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from the poorest coolie upwards will fight to the bitter end for his Hukk and
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maintenance of what they consider is their Hukk.

al
aw
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(d
ah

- Sir Benjamin Robertson, I.C.S.

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(Sir Benjamin Robertson went to South Africa to assist the work of Solomon Commission which was
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appointed to enquire into the grievances of the Indians of the South Africa and had served as the
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Governor of Central provinces and Berar.)

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Extracts from The South African Gandhi Stretcher Bearer of the Empire (Page 256) - By Desai & Vahed
is
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on
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To take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward,

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and an unworthy timid ignorance obstructing our progress.

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The motto of The Economist Newspaper as published in its First Edition September 1843 which could
as well be the motto of this lecture series.

4
 Syllabus & Lectures
______________________________________________
Syllabus to be covered by Shri Rangan Dutta Sir

Human Values - lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and
administrators; role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values.
Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and non-
partisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion
towards the weaker-sections. (Public Administration perspective)
Contributions of moral thinkers and philosophers from India and world
Public/Civil service values and Ethics in Public administration - Status and problems:
ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations
and conscience as sources of ethical guidance: accountability and ethical governance:
strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance; ethical issues in international
relations and funding: corporate governance.
Probity in Governance - Concept of public service; philosophical basis of governance and
probity; Information sharing and transparency in, Right to Information, Codes of Ethics, Codes
of Conduct, Citizens Charters, Work culture, Quality of service delivery, Utilization of public
funds, challenges of corruption.

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Breaking of the Topics

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The making of a Civil Servant

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Aptitude and foundational values for the Civil Service in the present context - Historical
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evolution of a practical philosophy for Civil Service and the relevance of Gandhian concepts
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of Sarvodaya and Antyodaya as the guiding principle of serving the people.

Sah

The importance of core values of Civil Service - Integrity, Impartiality, Objectivity, Dedication
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to the Public Service, Empathy, Tolerance and Compassion to the weaker and disadvantaged
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sections.
fo

Contribution of moral thinkers and philosophers of India and the rest of the world - the
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Indian thoughts on public service through ages and institutions built thereon and what could
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be learned from this experience in comparison with the Western ideas on the subject.
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A comparative study of thoughts of moral philosophers of the East and the West up to
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present times and its relevance to evolution of core values of Civil Service in the present day
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context.
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A general theory of ethics based public governance and accountability with emphasis on
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cultivation of public and civil service values as factors in building national character,
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appropriate institutions of governance and conventions for establishment of strong

sustainable democratic polity founded on reason and rule of law.
Ethics in corporate governance highlighting measures needed to improve corporate
governance in the present national and global context of great recession characterized by
financialization, poor corporate governance and inadequate regulatory framework in the
backdrop of ethics in International Relations and problems and prospects of a just global
5
 order.
Convergence of values of public service and corporate governance issues and prospects.
Ethics, equity and justice in a state committed for the upliftment of the poor and
downtrodden as practical principles of governance of pro-poor initiatives.
Probity in governance - main issues and prospects in the light of the emerging concept of
adding value to the public service by means of the right to information, sharing and
transparency in government, codes of ethics, citizens charter, work culture as together these
are designed to improve work culture, quality of service delivery, better utilization of the
public fund and creation of the climate of social rejection of corruption.
How to deal with case studies by applying the proper criteria, methods, and state results of
scrutiny and critical examination.

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l.c
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6
 CONTENT
_______________________________________
1. The Making of a Civil Servant. .............................................................................................. 8
A Philosophy for the Civil Services
Role of Society & Family
Cultivation of basic Human Values
Teachings of great social and religious reformers, men of Letters and Leaders whose
work and thoughts should shape the minds of Civil Service Aspirants
2. Aptitude and Foundational values of Civil Servants ............................................................ 21
3. Contributions of Moral Thinkers and Philosophers of India and Abroad on Ethics and its
Impact on the Value System of the Civil Service ................................................................. 39
4. General Principles of Ethics and Value System in Civil Services, Corporate Governance
and International Relations .................................................................................................. 46
5. Convergence of Public Service and Corporate Values ........................................................ 64
An unresolved dilemma of the nation state in the 21st century
6. Probity in Governance ......................................................................................................... 80

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7. A Summary of the Lecture on Practical Ethics of Pro Poor Initiatives and its Conceptual

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Basis ..................................................................................................................................... 93
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8. Case Studies........................................................................................................................ 102

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Annexure
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The Narobi Speech ............................................................................................................. 105

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The CIC Judgment .............................................................................................................. 113

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7
 CHAPTER ONE

The Making of a Civil Servant

A Philosophy for the Civil Services Role of Society & Family
Cultivation of basic Human Values Teachings of great social and
religious reformers, men of Letters and Leaders whose work and thoughts
should shape the minds of Civil Service Aspirants
_________________________________________________________________________

Part I

100

Civil Service is a misunderstood profession that carries an unflattering

image and seen as rigid, inflexible and stands for status quo and hence a barrier
to change; this is largely due to a misperception that Civil Service stands by itself
as an institution while it has always been a part of the executive wing of the state
and has a symbiotic relationship with the political system that shapes its value

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system and functioning. Much therefore depends on the nature of the state and
ai
the basic character of its legal system. India for instance is a common lawgm
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nation that follows the British conventions and practices fully while Myanmar
ah
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and Pakistan are not under their constitutions even though they inherited the
aw
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same common law system (Note that the modern Civil Service emerged in Europe
(d
ah

only in the early 19th Century, in France, England and Germany following
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consolidation of Nation states in phases from the Treaty of Westphalia, 1648 and
w
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that in India the Civil Service grew out of the East India Companys Cadre of
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Covenanted Civil Servants; China had a tradition of merit based Civil Service from
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second century BC to 1905). In Why Nations fail? the authors Acemoglu and
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Robinson divided states into authoritarian, extractive and inclusive regardless of

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whether governments are formed periodically on the basis of elections or not; the
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civil service in these situations will necessarily have different values, styles of
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functioning, methods and practices for having to operate in tune with the states
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political and administrative culture. The point to note is that unlike technical
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professions it is not possible to lay down common professional civil service values
except in very general terms and that too applicable to very junior level and not
for the senior civil service; hence abstract values will not suffice as Civil Service
values, systems and approaches to public issues at higher level is conditioned by
the political system.

8
 Having said so, lets proceed with the task of defining a philosophy for the
civil service within the framework of civilizational values. This has to be a mix of
personal values of an individual civil servant and the organizational values of a
specific civil service a synthesis of the two; this journey is bound to be difficult
but unavoidable. A sensible way to build a roadmap to a value system is to study
broadly thoughts and philosophies in order to identify values and aspects
relatable to civil service for a construct of value systems ensuring efficiency
with dignity for a life with honor; and this begins with understanding of the
concept of state and its philosophy.
The word Philosophy is of Greek origin, meaning those who love and
pursue freedom; Philos means, loving, while sophos refers to wisdom or wise
men. Philosophers study the nature of mans existence and experience in the
universe suggesting a very wide canvas developed over centuries and still
evolving in an environment shaped by some facts, ideas and circumstances as
summarized below.
Homo-sapiens are different from animals in one important respect: the
animals bark, roar and cry but do not laugh. Laughter is a selective
mental response, often measured and is an outcome of a thought
process; those different tribes of animals, however, though all of the

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same species, are of scarce any use to one another Adam Smith in
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Wealth of Nations.
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Values are the outcomes of material existence - Sansar; values,

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though vary from time to time, have some core values as they are time
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tested - usually incorporated in some religious faith or some other.

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Social values on the other hand are the outcome of individuals

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interaction with others at the personal and collective/societal level

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and conditioned by the mode of production and organization of the

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society: here comes three institutions - Family, Private Property and

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the State, the latter being responsible for protection of the first two
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and represents in some form what Rousseau called General Will the
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degree of which varies from system to system - say, monarchy and

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democracy. The human values are thus the outcome of all these
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processes of creation of family, private property that led to generation

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of surplus, ownership rights of the surplus which facilitated trade,

initially in the form of barter and later refined into exchange based on
some kind of money: the state emerged as an institution for ensuring
orderly conduct of life, society and economic exchanges and thus
marketplace emerged as a core institution.

9
 It is essential to know the origins of these three institutions to appreciate
Civil Service values which overlap with the state and society.
The Greek words Famulus and Familia from which family has
been derived meant a household slave and totality of the slaves
belonging to an individual respectively. The Latin expression Familia
id est patrimonium i.e. inheritance, was used by Romans to describe
the new social organization headed by male. The modern family
contains in embryo not only slavery but serfdom which is the
product of seasonal agriculture and domestication of animals that
created demand for labor and hence slave labor and also, womens
labor in agriculture, dairy, and household on permanent basis; the
male member became the head of the family that led to subordination
of women and the disappearance of matrilineal system. The
overthrow of the mother-right was the world history defeat of the
female sex. Frederic Engels3 - The Origins of Family, Private
Property and State - and this is how father-right and inheritance of
property by males became the norm which is the consequence of the
growth of private property, trade and accumulation of wealth.
State, initially under a strong man emerged as organization to

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safeguard the institutions of private property and family in order to

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sanctify these two institutions and also to facilitate further increase in
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wealth and passing on the private wealth and property to the male
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successors which required some laws that the society would impose
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on itself based on a diktat from the strongman who came to be

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known as the king which is derived from the Greek word kuning and
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kuni meaning chief of tribes. The state, therefore, was initially

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geared to stabilize agriculture based property relations and produced

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leisure for some which led to thoughts and ideas; and hence
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Philosophy and Civil Servants whose job was to ensure that

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regulations made by the state are enforced and transactions/trade are

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carried out in accordance with the norms of behavior approved by the

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state and its king.

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From this primitive state over the centuries, the character of the
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state changed according to changes in the mode of production,

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volume of trade and technology up gradation that varied from state to

state: its basis was a feeling of unity that a cluster of tribes usually
living in an identifiable region may develop and hence the need to have
a common identity which is reflected in the state to facilitate its own
pattern/way of life. This perception also evolved and became the basis
10
of the nation state in the 19th century for reasons such as growth of
language, ethnicity, religion based identities in Europe supported by
economic strengths derived from technological changes and the
spread of industrial revolution. We may thus conclude that the rise of
growth of civil service represented a change over from purely personal
service to the sovereign to a public service of the state, a legal,
personal and institutional abstraction disengaged from the social
privileges founded on the legitimacy of the rights by birth. The
transition from the personal to the public involved a whole gamut of
social change from feudalism through bureaucratic absolutism to
political democracy (B. B. Mishra Conceptual Development in the
West). We need not go into these details for understanding how the
Civil Service values grew for which an appropriate course could be the
study of the Asokan State briefly as this was historys first value based
administration covering a large territory that assigned a value system
for its civil servants as summarized below:
The concept of Rajdharma puts strong emphasis on tolerance of
all faiths for the first time in human history based on rationality
and reason as inscribed on the 12th Major Rock Edict, 256 B.C.

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the progress of essential doctrine of religions can be achieved in

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many ways, but its basis is the control of ones speech, so as not
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to extol ones own religion or disparage anothers. Therefore,
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amity between various religion is to be commented so that men

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may hear one anothers principles and obey them.

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The cultivation of tolerance was actively institutionalized by

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appointment of thousands of Rajukas, meaning, rural officials

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for spread of the concept of Dharma which essentially meant

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ethical-social conduct and respect of all faiths. Rajukas were

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trained to serve as social development officials whose other duties

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included helping the rural people to attain higher productivity

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and income. Ashoka deployed senior Magistrates to supervise the

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work of the Rajukas with a clear direction that no man should

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suffer imprisonment or torture without reason and that

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impartiality requires avoidance of jealousy, shortness of temper,

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harshness, rashness, obstinacy, idleness or slackness in public

dealings. Ashoka directed officials to strive, act and work so that
you may be satisfied in your mind that you have discharged your
debt to the king who approves and instructs thus. A system was
put in place for officials to visit provinces to investigate and to

11
 ensure that these orders were carried out. A better and more
detailed guidelines for the Civil Servants have not been developed
till date in human history.
The Asokan concept of tolerance was founded on a spirit of
philosophical enquiry and interest in all faiths and cultures of the
citizens to understand the essential unity of all religions to guide
the Civil Servants in discharge of the duties. The Edicts therefore
laid down a code of conduct and also the system for its
enforcement. Asokas fervent appeal to practice moderation in
praising or practicing ones own religion and appointment of
Rajukas are expressions of philanthropic statsecraft
Asokas care and concern for sustainable development,
conservation of ecology, environment and wildlife was embedded
in his edicts prohibiting slaughter of animals, birds and fish for
which a list of endangered species was inscribed for observance
by the citizens and further he urged citizens to avoid animal
sacrifice during religious festivals. In his seventh pillar edict
Ashoka placed more emphasis on persuasion and willing
acceptance by citizens rather than laws as the means of

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protecting environment, wildlife and to avoid slaughter of

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animals; it was the task of the Rajukas to do this what is now
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called extension work. In none of his 14 Rock Edicts meant for

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guidance of his officials, Ashoka had accorded a higher place to

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Buddhism or its preachers but treated all - Brahmins,

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Shramanas, and Jains on the same footing; this paved the way
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for the growth of a consensus in the Civil Society on such matters

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and social cohesion.

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Part II
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101
ti
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It must be noted that different forms of state existed in China, West Asia,
do
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and Europe during this period which encompassed vast and diverse population.
Th

The Roman and the Chinese state systems were particularly important,
especially, the former as it established a civil service recruitment system based
on examination in or about 120 BC which continued up to 1905 and based on
elaborate laws for management of land and administration of justice. This deeply
ingrained tradition of Civil Service in China apart, one does not notice lasting
12
Civil Service in the medieval period in India and elsewhere as the systems and
structures established always changed with the change of rulers, there was thus
no continuity in most countries except some basic ground level institutions like
those of Patwaris and Panchayats in India and customs officials at ports or
points of transit of trade and commerce or regulations to combat crimes.
It was only in the 19th century when the nation state emerged that we
noticed gradual emergence of organized civil service. This development - the rise
of the nation state is the outcome of Renaissance of Europe which itself is the
product of fall of Constantinople in 1453. The victory of the Turks broke the
established faith in the infallibility of the Catholic Church and the Papal order
leading to a deep sense of humiliation that caused men to think and question the
entire basis of faith and institutions associated with it. This spirit of enquiry led
to revival of interest in classical Greek and Roman learning and study of the
institutions of governance created in those periods to find answers to the
problems faced. This spirit led to Reformation and the rise of Protestant order,
rejection of the authority of the Pope and the consequent enhancement of Kings
power and growth of local language based identity which formed the base of
future nation states. While building structures of the new states the rulers found
strong merits in the teachings of Greek and Roman Philosophers and the laws

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and the institutions created in ancient Greece and Rome as models for

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adaptation. Later these principles were also found relevant for expanding the
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rights of citizens that led to substitution of monarchy by democracy; and even
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today the core values of the state and the civil service that the classical world
s
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gave remain valid. Hence an attempt is made here to summarize these values
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implicit in the different schools of Greek and Roman philosophy as follows:

S ah
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Stoic Philosophy - Its main elements are:

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a. Indifference to hardship, human freedom and cosmic

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determinism - meaning that what happens now, happened before

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and will happen not once but countless times more. The maxim
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that those who do not learn from history are condemned to

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repeat it, is derived from stoicism.

s
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b. God is not separate from the world and is its soul and in each of
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us contains a part of the divine fire. Vivekananda probably had

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these in mind when he talked about the divinity in man,

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awaiting to be aroused.
c. Virtue consists of a will in agreement with nature and virtue is
the sole good which resides in the will. The individual will is
completely autonomous. When the divine part of a man exercises

13
 will virtuously, this will is part of Gods Will which is free and
becomes virtuous will. From this doctrine of virtue which could be
cultivated by all the stoics propounded two great ideas - of
natural rights for all and that all human beings are equal. In the
17th and 18th century this idea was revived to press for
democracy.
d. Everything really good or bad in a mans life depends upon
himself. The stoic is not virtuous in order to be good but good in
order to be virtuous.
e. Universe is a rigidly deterministic single whole in which all that
happens is the result of previous causes. It is a single animate
will having a soul which may also be called God or reason. (Note
the importance given to reason and not faith or blind faith that
formed the basis of scientific enquiry). The contradiction between
the will and determinism is one of those that run through
philosophy from early times to our own day, said Russell.
f. Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor (AD 121-180) in his
meditations favored a polity in which there is the same law for
all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal

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freedom of speech and kingly government which respects most of
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all the freedom of the governed. This remarkable idea, of course,
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could not be realized in the Roman empire; much later in the

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17th century onwards when the people came together to oppose

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despotism of the kings the stoic doctrines of natural laws and

(d
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natural equality, in their Christian dress acquired a huge

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practical force which in antiquity not even an emperor could give

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to citizens. - Russell.
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Sophism is the philosophy of Sophocles who belonged to the age of

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Pericles who developed the art of disputation and emphasized the

on
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preeminence of mind as the primary cause of the physical changes

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that men actually brought about. Sophism is a part of the larger

ti
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Skeptical movement of Protagoras; Sophist is essentially a man who

m
cu
do

lives by teaching useful subjects to young men which would help them
is

in their day to day lives. By this logic a Civil Servant serving in the
Th

agriculture department and engaged in teaching improved farm

technology is a Sophist. Protagoras made a code of laws based on a
promise that - one opinion can be better than another though it can
not and may not be truer; the Sophist developed the art of argument -
for and against a Philosophy as a way of life and promoted a spirit of
14
 skepticism - a positive quality that leads to scientific enquiry. (Note
the similarity of thought in Amartya Sens The Argumentative Indian).
The Sophists values are relevant to Civil Service for preparing a
cogent policy paper that lays down pros and cons of an initiative or a
matter and also implementing schemes and developing a new project
or an innovation. A Sophist may even consider India an embittered
democracy considering social conflict and its dynamics. Another
aspect of Sophism is its emphasis that there is no impersonal
standard to which to appeal in contest for power because the law of
nature is the law of the stronger; therefore for convenience men have
established institutions and moral precepts to restrain the strong.
This view is remarkably prescient as evident from organization and
functioning of the UN system. Further, the Sophist defined wisdom as
something more generalized than specialized skill since its possession
is supposed to make a man capable of governing wisely; this wisdom
is a quality to be cultivated and points to its relevance to the civil
service system and values. There is an interesting conclusion that no
legally definable selection of citizens is likely to be wiser in practice
than the whole of the body. This forms the basis of democracy. The

)
Greek philosophers therefore addressed the question of how to create

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a good state and not how men can be virtuous in a world of
ai
gm
wickedness. This search for a good state was the main theme of Platos
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teachings and his perception of the role of the Guardians, the common
s
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people and the soldiers - the former entrusted with a duty to

aw
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administer for the good of the society and the state.

(d
S ah

Sophism also led to Cynicism, a philosophy that taught a certain

al
w
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indifference but not abstinence from the good things of life just to
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demonstrate how easy it was always to do without much material

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possessions by cultivation of habits like - simple food and clothing, for

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instance; and it seems so close to Gandhijis ideas.

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Cynicism is partly a philosophy of retreat and effort to be somewhat

s
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independent of it by conscious development of indifference to material

en
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comforts or at least a disdain for the same. It therefore seems relevant

cu
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for Civil Servants seeking to cultivate a culture of non-poor lifestyle

is
Th

and yet feel happy and beyond certain level a healthy disdain for
career progression and preference for cultivation of mind.
Skepticism was first proclaimed by Pyrrho, who formalized a fine order
of doubts applicable to any proposition theory or ideal for acceptance,
meaning nothing should be accepted without ascertaining full facts or
15
 resolving the doubts that may arise in the minds of the persons
exposed to any idea. It is thus called not only a philosophy of doubt
but also of dogmatic doubt - an attitude of not being carried away by
any slogan or political mantra/doctrine. It is thus relevant for the civil
service as it helps to retain objectivity and therefore a mental
framework for proper examination of a proposal or a matter.
Skepticism therefore has to be an essential part of Civil Service value
system. One must remember that it became a strong intellectual force
against dogmatic religion and ideas of all kinds that claimed monopoly
of truth and is relevant today.
Greeks and Romans of the antiquity also developed a philosophy of
pleasure which was best propounded by Epicurus - a reasoned
doctrine of pleasure not just confined to physical comfort or senses
but something more to make one aware of limitations of self seeking
pleasure that is bound to leave everyone spiritually restless and a
mind devoid of peace and spirit of enquiry. The Epicurean philosophy
therefore is a road to self-destruction and to be avoided; the roots of
corruption leading to acquisition of wealth by dishonest means
without regard to its impact on the minds of the people that leads to

)
om
destruction of the soul is always due to mindless adoption of

l.c
ai
Epicurean philosophy and therefore a civil servant should be aware of
gm
its practical implications and avoid it altogether.
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ah
s

No discussion on this subject is complete without noting the thoughts

al
aw

of Machiavelli (1467-1527) who in his classic work entitled The

h
(d
ah

Prince has shown intellectual honesty about political dishonesty as

S
al

he enumerated the choices for the ruler and the actions the ruler has
w
ha

to take. Some of his dictums of statecraft such as his view that it is

rD
fo

necessary for a ruler to be able to disguise his character and to be a

ed
is

great feigner and dissembler who deceives always may appear too
al
on

cynical but his other point that one who deceives will always find
rs
pe

those who allow themselves to be deceived sounds a practical advice.

s
ti

Machiavelli argued that the doctrine of checks and balances must be

en
m

built into the constitution and for responsible citizenship revival of

cu
do

learning was necessary for a strong state. This concept of power was
is
Th

based on an assessment of human character guided by egoism as he

felt that civilized men are almost certain to be unscrupulous egoists
which holds good in even todays power game in politics.
Machiavellis conception of community as an organic growth that is
influenced in a limited manner by the statesmen is not accepted today
16
 as the reach of the statesmen has expanded due to technology and
expansion of services; however, his emphasis on lack of scruples and
its use by those in power must serve as a stern warning to those in
power including civil servants about limitations of power. Machiavelli
therefore should be read to know what must be avoided and to know
the real state of power game.
There are two seminal ideas - Kants idea of objective principles and
categorical imperative and Ibn-Khalduns concept of social cohesion which
must be noted for building civil service value systems.
Kants idea that though everything in nature acts according to a law,
only a rational being has the power of acting according to the idea of
the law namely by will. The role of will as the command of reason is
essential as a tool for analysis of administrative problems and for
determining actions. Kant expanded this idea of will to argue that as
each man is an absolute entity therefore all men should count equally
in determining actions by which many would be affected. This could
be the ethical basis of democracy and suggests that a civil servant
must be aware of this fact in taking a decision as his or her decision

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om
might affect a large body of citizens; it is also therefore a kind of

l.c
ai
categorical imperative for judgment. gm
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ah

The idea of Social Cohesion that is solidarity of the small groups forms
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al

the basis of Ibn-Khalduns philosophy of Asabiyahs - an Arabic term

aw
h
(d

that embodies such solidarity as means to promote broader social

S ah

integration. The self-help group movement of today as well as the co-

al
w

operative movement reflect social cohesion as an instrument of

ha
rD

progress. In 1990s Pierre Bordieu considered social cohesion as the

fo
ed

basis of building of social capital focused on benefits that would

is
al
on

accrue to the individuals through their participation in groups and the

rs
pe

need for individuals to invest in these relations. Appreciation of this

s
ti

philosophy is essential for a civil servant involved in any socio-

en
m

economic development activity as it boils down to building social

cu
do

cohesion to expand and deepen the base of social capital. In Indian

is
Th

context this should mean bringing diverse groups under a common

organization to meet common objects in matters like health,
education, economic empowerment and skill development on a regular
basis.

17
 Part II

102

Study of Western and Indian Philosophy would enable us to identify many

such ideas which are relevant to Civil Service and therefore it is left to an
individual to study and identify values for inclusion in his individual scheme of
thoughts or moral-ethical and professional framework. The subject is vast and
requires continuous assessment. However, the value systems in the Indian
constitution for the citizens apply equally to civil servants and therefore need to
be internalized. In order to inculcate a set of values forming a part of
enlightened self-interest that does not compromise the core values that a civil
servant might have acquired through study of philosophies mentioned above and
backed up by the value system that he had imbibed from his family, religion and
society. However, as his work primarily relates to dealing with the citizens, has a
bearing on their well-being, a clear appreciation of the concept of liberty is
essential as the idea of justice and the manner of its administration critically
depends on how an official - elected or non-elected, views liberty of citizens.
History is seen by an Italian Philosopher Pilegretta as nothing but one of

)
om
l.c
libertys adventure.
ai
gm
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ah

Isaiah Berlin, a noted British Philosopher, argued that there are two
s
al

concepts of liberty - negative and positive, the former meaning absence of

aw
h
(d

obstacles, in modern western philosophy liberty is not permissiveness but

S ah

freedom, namely free of coercion but that leaves the question in what form?
al
w

Perhaps, coercion of inhuman and cruel political and moral doctrines and dogma
ha
rD

and compulsive conformity demand steadfast non-interference. Abolition of

fo
ed

untouchability by law and strict punishment provided therein is an instrument

is
al
on

to ensure that the Dalits are not exposed to any such coercion that stands as a
rs
pe

major obstacle to their due advancement. Positive liberty on the other hand
s
ti

emphasizes opportunities and facilities that ought to be availed by the citizens -

en
m
cu

and the state has the duty in this regard through its social and economic policies
do

to enable the citizens to attain all round progress. It is therefore individual as

is
Th

well as collective centric because the focus is on providing opportunities to the

individual citizens for the societal progress. There is thus an invisible
relationship between the individuals and the externals; since the state comes in
theres a possibility that positive and negative liberty can contradict each other.
Berlin gave the example of the totalitarian states that touched upon in the name
18
of development and solidarity all aspects of life and turned citizens into mere
coefficients in the power game of the ruling dispensation. George Orwells Animal
Farm portrays a society built on coercion and an absolute negation of Berlins
negative liberty. In the same manner perpetual hunger deprives an individual of
both negative and positive liberties. Amartya Sen called such deprivations as
unfreedoms which the state must try to remove by positive intervention. Berlin
further warned what hatred and intemperate violence would do to an individual
and society which we see today in the Middle-East in the activities of ISIS or
Daesh. To promote positive liberty, Berlin was in favor of growth of association of
men from small interest groups to larger professional formations seeking
attainment of social goals. The Grameen Bank movement of Bangladesh and Self
Help Group (SHG) movements in India are designed to empower the poor to
enable them to become stake holders to be able to reap full advantages of
positive liberty.

Conclusion

Tagores emphasis on reasoning, mass education as the most important

)
element in the development of a country, Gandhijis philosophy of ethical

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l.c
consumerism, care for nature and empowerment of the depressed classes and
ai
gm
the poor as embodied in the Philosophy of Sarvodaya founded on Antyodaya are
@
ah

thoughts to be taken as the ethical framework for the civil servants. Though it is
s
al
aw

generally felt that religion has had a little influence on the conduct of the people
h
(d

in material spheres as they tend to believe more in the rituals and the practices
S ah

than the values preached in religious texts, much would depend on how the
al
w
ha

individuals perceive religion. Here Vivekananda appears relevant as his concept

rD
fo

of practical Vedanta presented an inclusive model that did not separate moral
ed
is

authority from public duty; he saw spirituality in service to the poor and the
al
on

downtrodden and as an expression of universal friendship and that happiness

rs
pe

lies in happiness of the whole and not in selfish realization of material gains.
s
ti
en

Vivekananda therefore elevated public service and public duty as matters to be

m
cu

performed as ones Karma and according to the Law of Karma as it is a means to

do
is

realization of the soul that is Atman that brings out the divinity in man. One
Th

may note the continuity of the liberal humanistic traditions in Indian and
Western thoughts from the days of the antiquity; this commonality needs
appreciation and cultivation as moral values.

19
References:

1. Fali. S. Nariman- Indias Legal System - Can it Be Saved? Penguin 2006

2. Acemoglu & Robinson - Why Nations Fails:The Origin of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
3. Bertrand Russell-History of Western Philosophy.
4. Amartya Sen - The Argumentative Indian, Development as Freedom
5. The World Development Report 2012 - The World Bank
6. Isaiah Berlin Two Concepts of Liberty
7. George Orwell Animal Farm
8. Swami Vivekananda-Selection from the complete works of Swami Vivekananda -
Advaita Ashrama. 1987
9. Economic Philosophy : Joan Robinson (Pelican 1962)

)
om
l.c
ai
gm
@
ah
s
al
aw
h
(d
S ah
al
w
ha
rD
fo
ed
is
al
on
rs
pe
s
ti
en
m
cu
do
is
Th

20
 CHAPTER TWO

Aptitude and Foundational Values of Civil

Servants
_________________________________________

Preamble

The subject is rather broad as it covers aptitude and foundational values

of Civil Services a loaded expression that suggests understanding of the
historical evolution of Civil Service as an institution and the values and ethos
that came to be associated with it in a modern state. The word aptitude means
fitness and in the context of the Civil Service refers to the qualities a Civil
Servant is expected to possess and cultivate to maintain the institution of the
Civil Service and to contribute its efficiency in delivery of public service. It would
take one to the realm of Philosophy, History, Sociology, Psychology and

)
om
Economics the core disciplines which constitute liberal arts education and

l.c
ai
inevitably to literature and classical thoughts on Ethics, Politics and gm
@

Administration. In a fascinating article entitled why liberal arts education is

ah
s

useful? Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished Singaporean diplomat-scholar and

al
aw

presently Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of
h
(d
ah

Singapore pointed out, western liberal arts education enables one to acquire the
S

facility to question every assumption in our mind and referred to the subjects
al
w
ha

mentioned above. Impatience with these ideas or facts of history and their
rD

implications in laws and systems of administration will impair appreciation of

fo
ed

issues of governance in its broad sense.

is
al
on

One must realize that while technical education is oriented to

rs
pe

specialization in running and improving a specific system, sheer multiplicity and

s
ti
en

diversity of duties expected of a person in higher Civil Service call for mature
m
cu

understanding of interrelationships between a number of seemingly unrelated

do

activities, objects and goals; as for example, the relationship between railways
is
Th

and social and economic equity, hydropower development and environmental

justice. The concept of domain knowledge meaning specialization falls short of
this interconnectedness which according to Jeffery S. Luke has opened a new
era of ethical relevance for which there exist no standards or canons in
traditional ethics. He has argued that Policy Ethics today covers new areas and

21
issues like Bio-ethics in deciding matters like GM crops, intergenerational equity,
environmental ethics in dealing with ecology, natural resources and human
rights which requires sustained efforts for acquisition of knowledge of this
interconnectedness for application in policy making. An attempt has been made
in this paper to introduce an inclusive philosophy of Civil Service and its value
system.

200

The term Civil Service is derived from the Latin word 'civis' - meaning
matters relating to the citizens, Oxford dictionary defines it as 'all non-
military & non-judicial parts of state administration, the funds for which are
provided in the civil side of the budget and covers all categories of personnel.
A study of the genesis of the Civil Service and how it evolved with the
changing socio- economic and technological basis of territory based organized
human endeavor, called government of an entity, known as 'state' as distinct
from the ecclesiastical authorities namely e.g. the Pope of the Catholic Church,
(the Caliph of Turkey in the past) that transcend state boundaries would suggest
a symbiotic relationship between the constitution, form of government, political
culture and the values and systems of the Civil Service. This makes Civil Service

)
om
as a profession materially different from technical services as for instance

l.c
ai
personnel of the mechanical engineering department of the Railways in any gm
@

country whose task of maintenance of carriage and wagons and locomotives is

ah
s
al

not affected by the nature of the polity or the government; this is not so in Civil
aw

Service.
h
(d
ah

In Myanmar Civil Service functions presently under the 2008 constitution

S
al
w

which provides for an overriding role for the armed forces in the administration
ha
rD

of the country. This is because 20% of the seats of both the houses of the central
fo

legislature is reserved under the constitution for the personnel of the armed
ed
is

forces which has made the civil authority subservient to the army dominated
al
on

National Council for Peace and Solidarity; in the field administration, it boils
rs
pe

down to the local civil administration being made accountable to the local army
s
ti
en

authority who enjoys power to intervene in civil matters and a good proportion of
m
cu

key posts in Civil Service is reserved for the armed forces personnel on
do

deputation. Obviously in such a situation, democracy and the concept of

is
Th

separation of powers between the executive, legislative and the judiciary has no
place.
Under Part II of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of the Pakistan,
Islam shall be the state religion and the injunctions of the Islam as laid down in
Holy Quran and Sunnah shall be the supreme law and source of guidance of
22
legislation to be administered through the laws enacted by the parliament
(Majlees-e-shura). Further article 203A provides for a federal Sharia court and in
matters under its jurisdiction no court including Supreme Court has any
jurisdiction. These provisions imply that the rule of law as understood in the
common law countries like India that has adopted British Laws and
Conventions has no place in Pakistan; this simple fact makes accountability of a
Civil Servant, their functioning and value systems totally different from those
adopted in India.
The concepts of authority and sovereignty form the basis and legitimacy of
exercise of powers and discharge of state functions by 'persons authorized by the
state' (Civil Servants). This in ancient China was considered so very important
that 'The Mandarins' as the civil servants were called, were recruited only on the
basis of a merit based competitive examination system for the first time in
history.

201

The Civil Service for the UPSC examination refers to the posts which
mostly fall under, what may be called superior establishments as all top posts
in these cadres are to be manned ordinarily by the direct recruits through this

)
om
examination. The ethos, values and ethics of these men and women who are to

l.c
ai
gm
hold such posts have to be necessarily different from those who hold posts in the
@

subordinate cadres. Thus recognizing the fact that there can not be any
ah
s
al

generalized abstract set of values and ethics for the Civil Servants as a whole,
aw

Durrel Pugh has argued that the conduct of the higher class of Civil Servants is
h
(d
ah

chiefly guided by a mix of bureaucratic and democratic ethos which constitutes,

S
al

according to Pugh, the foundation of their code of ethics. The prevalent values of
w
ha

bureaucratic ethos are, he felt contained in five pervasive concepts efficiency,

rD
fo

efficacy, expertise, loyalty and accountability, which means also strict adherence
ed
is

to the hierarchy. In India the ideas of socialism, social justice and secular
al
on

nationalism as embodied in the constitution have fostered growth of Indian

rs
pe

bureaucratic ethos through training at various stages of an officials career; thus

s
ti

empathy for the poor, and poverty alleviation, commitment to eradication of

en
m

social evils and injustice are a kind of social gospel to motivate the Civil
cu
do

Servants to improve the delivery of public service and to become reform minded
is
Th

meaning openness to suggestions to improve systems and procedures and

willingness to innovate and to implement reforms when such measures are
adopted by the government. These traits could be called dynamic as distinct from
static approach that characterizes bureaucracies under undemocratic, especially
military dominated regimes.

23
 Pugh also mentioned that content values for democratic ethos meaning
values enshrined in the constitution and the political institution are 1. Regime
values 2. Citizenship 3. Public Interest and 4. Social Equity; of these the idea of
public interest is somewhat problematic in the Indian context because of lack of
clarity that one finds in defining in reality what constitutes public interest; in a
country of huge diversity and competing interests, perceptions about public
interest vary and often get mixed up with sectarian, regional and local interest
though there is a consensus that general or national interest is superior to and
has priority over sectional interest. However, only on matters such as national
security or broad development strategy consensus is seen to exist; and when it
comes to other issues like land reforms, conservation of forests and environment
including pollution control, mining and hydropower development, some interests
representing powerful groups seem to prevail as they could override even the
legitimate concerns of weaker groups of citizens. This creates a dilemma for the
Civil Service. If one follows the media reports these days on the work of the
Ministry of Environment and Forest at the center and Forest Department in the
States, the problem/dilemma seems obvious. The constitutional charter of the
MOEF is to conserve forests and wild life and to protect and improve
environment by administering properly central and state laws enacted for this
purpose.

)
om
l.c
We have a National Green Tribunal (NGT) with regional benches with the
ai
gm
mandate to ensure that the extant forest and environment laws are duly
@
ah

enforced. MoEF & climate change is indeed the custodian of forest and
s
al

environment; yet its regulatory functions also include power to give forest and
aw
h

environment clearance to all projects mining, infrastructure, townships, power

(d
ah

development and transmission of power especially as such projects require

S
al

diversion of forest lands for projects which might have implications for the
w
ha
rD

environment. In practice, it is observed that in a market - infrastructure urban

fo

led growth path that we have adopted since the opening up of the economy in
ed
is

1990-91, the need for such clearances is viewed as irritants and the MoEF is
al
on

always under pressure to clear such projects in the interest of development and
rs
pe

failure to do so is viewed as anti-development stance. This often leads to slipshod

s
ti
en

environment impact assessment and clearance being given without due

m
cu

consideration of the protests made by the groups such as project affected tribals
do

and others who felt that their livelihoods would be in jeopardy or life support
is
Th

system like agricultural land, water bodies, habitations would suffer irreparable
damage. Thus to be on the side of the project proponents big corporates in
most cases is seen as being on the side of development by some civil servants
even though the project might not have the support of the affected groups and
hence not entirely in conformity with the democratic idea of the public interest.

24
 In such situations, the concept of public trust implicit in the examination
based recruitment comes in as relevant and becomes logically the guiding
principle as together with bureaucratic values of professionalism and
accountability, the civil servant in this case is duty bound to discharge his/her
duties by critically analyzing facts and circumstances of the case with full
application of the professional knowledge and on this basis record his views
without fear or favor; If his views are overruled he has a right to demand that the
reasons for the same are placed on record in the public interest. If, however the
political executive sticks to its decision, the civil servant is ordinarily duty-bound
to implement the same unless it was based on bias and improper basis in which
case the Civil Servant is duty bound to place on record his reservations about the
decision. In such a case his conscience will be clear because he has discharged
his duties as per law as a public servant and in these days of RTI activism, his
actions might get known and earn him public approbation which is the highest
reward for a Civil Servant. In this connection comments of Jairam Ramesh,
former Union Minister made in Green Signals as quoted below confirm the
justness of the aforesaid position.
The debate is really not one of environment vs development but really be
one of adhering to rules, regulations, and laws versus taking the rules, regulations,

)
and laws for granted. When public hearings mean having hearings without the

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l.c
public and having the public without the hearings, it is not an environment versus
ai
gm
development issue at all. When an industrial project begins construction to expand
@
ah

its capacity without bothering to seek any environmental clearance as mandated

s
al

by law, it is not an environment versus development question, but simply one of

aw
h

whether laws enacted by the Parliament will be respected or not. Jay Ram
(d
ah

Ramesh Green Signals Oxford 2015, p.579.

S
al
w

This may be taken as an example of convergence of bureaucratic and

ha
rD

democratic ethos. A civil servant therefore has to make a conscious choice as in

fo
ed

a developing country like India, in practically all Government departments,

is
al

undertakings, technical, scientific or even welfare organizations under the states,

on
rs

such conflicting approaches to public interest are seen just as Delhi is now
pe
s

grappling with the problem of air pollution and the proposed restrictions on
ti
en

movement of private vehicles has the effect of generating a lively debate on

m
cu

whether the proposed measures will serve the public interest or if there could be
do
is

a viable alternative.
Th

202

In this background a code of ethics could be laid down but its actual
observance would require institutional backup and safeguard to encourage Civil

25
Servants to act without fear or favor in public interest and efforts to put in place
institutions like the Civil Service Boards, Vigilance Commissions with the twin
task of protecting the honest and the steadfast, while booking the corrupt. The
order of the honorable Supreme Court in the case of the Dr. Ram Lakhan Singh
vs the State of UP dated, November 17, 2015, shows that a lot needs to be done
over and above the AIS conduct rules or CCS conduct rules to create an
environment conducive to proper functioning of the Civil Servants to preserve
and protect the public interest. Yet, as no system could be perfect, one must
appreciate that the values become the functional norms and institutionalized if
and when adopted by the majority of the Civil Servants while discharging their
duties. There will always be deviants in any system but their actions would not
undermine the service and the system of governance if the core values
established over the years are followed by the majority. For this very reason Max
Weber singled out bureaucracy as the most important institutional locus of
these bounded domain of rational means; for Max Weber, bureaucracy
represented the principal bulwark against the forces of unreason in modern
times.

203

)
om
The Idea of a Modern State

l.c
ai
gm
The dictum that 'law is the command of the sovereign' is the beginning of a
@
ah

process that eventually led to the current idea that sovereignty rests with the
s
al
aw

people as 'Taxpayers', who have the inalienable right to determine through their
h
(d

representatives, how the Tax Proceeds will be used and what laws are to be
S ah

framed to govern them because every law that regulates citizens' life has some
al
w
ha

financial implications e.g. the cost of enforcing the law through state agencies viz
rD

Civil Servants and its impact on citizens' well-being. Exception to this proposition
fo
ed

is state like Pakistan as its constitution begins with the assertion that
is
al

sovereignty rests with Allah.

on
rs
pe

The modern state is founded on the idea that those who exercise sovereign
s
ti

powers on behalf of the citizens are accountable to the latter and while the
en
m

institutional mechanism for ensuring such accountability may vary, its

cu
do

legitimacy is built on the following principles

is
Th

The rule of law and equality before law

The separation of powers between legislature, executive & judiciary
The concept of checks & balances is built into the three wings by legal
and institutional arrangements in a manner that does not permit any
overreach by any wing ; and the civil service exercises powers under

26
 the statutes and discharge executive functions under a system of
concurrent accountability to the ministry as well as judiciary designed
to ensure their functioning within the frame work of Laws/Rules
including administrative laws and strictly according to the due
process of law. This is called the agency function of the state by the
civil service in a Westminster type Parliamentary democracy.
Under common law system meaning systems political and
administrative built on the British laws and jurisprudence etc, elected members
of the legislatures are deemed essentially lawmakers even though some members
constitute the cabinet to discharge executive fuctions; and because members
other than those who constitute the cabinet are lawmakers, the parliamentary
system demands their exclusion from direct exercise of any executive
responsibility and power lest they lose their objectivity by getting involved in
executive functions as for example sanctioning of loans which will impair their
role as independent, impartial reviewers of state policies and actions as
lawmakers through their membership of various Parliamentary watchdog bodies
like the Public Accounts Committee or The Estimates Committee. This
philosophy of exclusion necessitates a permanent agency for discharge of agency
functions for all subjects under the charge of cabinet and the civil service is thus

)
constitutionally required to exercise power conferred on it strictly by rule book

om
l.c
and uninfluenced by any extraneous influence or authority. (Note that the MPs
ai
gm
Local area development funds and similar MLAs LAD funds are in theory against
@
ah

this concept of exclusion).

s
al
aw

Under the Rules of Executive Business of the Government, the

h
(d

Minister in charge of department is responsible for functioning of the

S ah

department while his personal role is well defined as it is limited to

al
w

policy making, overall supervision and decisions pertaining to

ha
rD

sanction of funds expenditure and all other matters as laid down

fo
ed

under the Rules of Executive Business but not to all other matters
is
al

pertaining to the department. To cite an example, acquision of

on
rs

equipments above a certain amount might require approval of the

pe
s

Minister incharge but could be purchased only with the concurrence

ti
en

of Finance department or as in important cases, the concerned

m
cu

Committee of the cabinet Cabinet Committee on Security in regard

do
is

to acquisition of artillery, fighter aircraft etc. In India this position

Th

applies to the functioning of the Center as well the States; and there
looms large always a possibility of judicial scrutiny of executive
decisions and functioning. This fine tuning of powers between the
political executive and civil service on the one hand and the judiciary
and legislature on the other is uniquely British tradition built over
27
 centuries in a political system which is being run without a written
constitution. To operate this system in good measure requires a strong
opposition to keep the ruling party in their toes. In this connection
Parkinsons argument though made in a lighter vein that its success
in Britain might as well be attributed to the British love for Team
games like cricket or football which is best enjoyed when the opposing
team is equally strong, seems to have a point. One must note that the
way a modern democratic state functions is largely conditioned by its
political and administrative culture and the strength of its
institutions. The harmonious interplay of these actors in the British
power game is brilliantly captured in Lord C P Snows novel
Corridors of Powers which was a Must Read Book for the civil service
probationers in the 1960s at the National Academy of Administration,
Mussoorie.
How did this idea of a modern States strike roots in India as it is embodied
in the constitution is a subject that we must address now; and mature
understanding of this history and landmarks in the growth and consolidation of
civil service is essential for appreciation of the Indian state today and the ethos
and value system of the civil service that drive its activities.

)
om
l.c
204
ai
gm
@

The landmarks of the growth and the consolidation of the Civil

ah
s
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Administration in India
aw
h
(d
ah

In India, the growth of Civil Service and the idea of a modern state
S
al

began following the British intervention in the affairs of India from

w
ha

1757 to 1765 when the British East India Company acquired Diwani
rD
fo

of Mugal Subah Bengal covering the whole of the present day West
ed

Bengal, Bihar, Bangladesh, and parts of Orissa and Assam. The

is
al
on

Company's 'covenanted' staff, designated as Writers, Factors, or

rs
pe

Agents, who were, in fact, Business Executives in today's parlance

s
ti

took over the administration of land revenue and justice - civil &
en
m

criminal in these areas over a period of time; and such personnel on

cu
do

being designated 'Civil Servants' a structured Civil Service emerged in

is
Th

phases during 1765 and 1833.

A foreign trading company thus metamorphosed in to the ruling power
the Honorable East India Company the first instance of what
William Dalrymple called involuntary privatization of a state in
history. Bengal Presidency as the erstwhile Mugal Subah came to be
known, was the engine of British power in India and South-East Asia
28
 as in its heyday till 1836 when the North Western Province (later
United Provinces of Agra & Avadh) was carved out, its power extended
from the present day U.P. to lower Burma and later till 1867 to Straits
Settlements in Singapore and Malaya. Bengal Presidency was indeed a
laboratory of administrative experiments a fact not adequately
highlighted in standard history books though the system developed in
Bengal Presidency was introduced with some local modifications in
Madras and Bombay Presidencies and NW Province and to the areas
which later came under direct British rule. It may be of interest to
note that the news of misrule of the East India company that caused
famines in Bengal reached America and influenced the American
colonies to demand independence from the British rule.
In India, historically those who collected revenue on behalf of the
sovereign, ruled the land. Through a process of trial and error during
1772 1793, a system of civil administration for administration of
revenue and justice civil and criminal took a definite shape with the
founding of the institution of the District Collector in 1772 by Warren
Hastings, the Governor of Bengal and the first Governor General, in all
35 districts later reduced to 27 by appointing European covenanted
staff of the company as District Collectors.

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The Diwani Adalats in the districts to deal with Civil disputes

l.c
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(property and land etc.) were also placed under the collectors in 1781.
gm
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In 1787, a Board of Revenue was established to hear appeals against

ah
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orders of the collectors in revenue matters. The magisterial powers of

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the collectors were increased in 1790 to include the powers to try

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criminal cases within certain limits and other powers necessary to

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maintain law and order. (This arrangement continued till separation of

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executive and judiciary in 1973 by an amendment to CRPC)

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Lord Cornwallis (1785-1793), who succeeded Hastings, reviewed the

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system and appointed a new cadre of officers largely drawn from the
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Companys officials, who were designated as Judges for each district

rs
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to try all civil and criminal cases above the powers of the collector and
s
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thereby took the first step to separate executive from judiciary.

en
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Lord Cornwallis made collectors responsible for custody of prisoners

cu
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and for execution of sentences passed on them by the criminal courts

is
Th

and systematized the procedures for administration of Justice and;

Restructured the highest court of appeal by making the Governor
General in council the appellate authority. These reforms came to be
known as the Cornwallis Code.
Lord Cornwallis took away the powers of the Zamindars to maintain
peace in their areas and directed them to disband their private
29
 policing activities and appointed a number of Darogas in each district.
Thus police stations (Thanas) emerged; the Tehsildars or Sub Deputy
Collectors were already in position as the district was divided in to
revenue circles called Tehsils. Initially, four Police Superintendents
were stationed in Calcutta, Dhaka, Patna and Murshidabad and later
in each district. The police worked under the District Magistrate and
the Collector.
It may be noted that the existing Police organization has evolved out of the
force which was later established in Sindh by Sir Charles Napier in 1840s and
modeled on the Irish Constabulary system in those days as distinct from the
Borough or community based policing that prevailed in England. Recruitment
to Indian Police through examination began from the year 1893. The Indian
Police (IP),that became IPS after independence emerged from this system. The
Police Act 1861 formed the legal and functional basis of policing in India.
One must note that the Indians were totally excluded from the higher
echelon of both civil and military structures of the government as only
low level subordinate posts were allowed to the Indians with no
prospect of reaching any responsible position and this had never
happened before because even under the Sultanate and The Mughal

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rule, the native indian officers used to be appointed to posts of high

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responsibility in both civil and military wings as for example Raja
ai
gm
Todarmal and Raja Man Singh during the time of Akbar. In response
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to the demands of Indians to do away with this gross injustice,

s
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notwithstanding the policy of opening all posts with the Indians made
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in the Charter Act in 1833 and thereafter. Lord William Bentick

S ah

carried out some reforms by creating the posts of Commissioners of

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Divisions each of which comprised several districts and posts of

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Deputy Magistrates and Collectors; the latter was the first step to
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appoint Indians to this cadre which became the Provincial Civil

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Service. He also created the posts of Joint Magistrates in charge of

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Sub-Divisions. Though these were subordinate services creation of

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this level in the executive and judicial wings opened some avenues in
ti
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the government to the educated Indians and provided opportunities

m
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for work at the officer level with the British Civil Officials. To an
do
is

Indian, this was an improvement as earlier the highest post attainable

Th

was that of a head clerk - often designated as Sheristadar or Revenue

Sheristadar or a post equivalent to that in any other department.(Note
that the persons holding these posts were addressed as Babu by their
British Superiors and hence this term Babu wrongly came to be
associated with the Bureaucracy and its horrible offshoot Babudom.)
30
 The recommendations of the Law Commission appointed under the
Charter Act 1853 led to enactment of High Courts Act 1861 and
establishment of High Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay and
later in 1866 at Lahore and Allahabad. A Federal Court was
constituted on October 1st, 1937 as a part of the Federal Constitution
Scheme under the Government of India Act 1935 which became the
Supreme Court under the constitution.
As the role of the government expanded and other departments like
the PWD, Health, Forest, Agriculture and Education started
functioning at the district level, the responsibility of the collector as
the coordinator and provider of the administrative support to the
activities of all departments, including those of the central
government, which became pronounced later was institutionalized in
the statutes.
This basic structure of the district administration continues today though
the District Magistrates enjoy no powers to try cases under the amended
provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedures 1973 but have powers as
executive magistrates of wide ranging nature. It may be noted that in the north-
east hill states like Meghalaya, no separation of powers between executive and

)
judiciary has taken place till date: and the Deputy Commissioners of such states

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l.c
exercise the powers of the Sessions Courts as conferred on them by the High
ai
gm
Court.
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The present day Group A Central Civil Service Cadres such as the
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Indian Foreign Service, IA&AS, IRS, etc. owe their origin to the
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subjects over which the Government of India retained control from the
S ah

very beginning and as defined under the Government of India Act

al
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1919; of these the most important were Military and Foreign Affairs,
ha
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Tariffs and Customs, Railways, Income Tax, Post and Telegraph,

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Currency and Public Debt, Commerce and Shipping. The then

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Foreign and Political Department under the Government of India

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responsible for its relations with the princely states and neighboring
pe
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countries like Afghanistan, Tibet, China, and regions like East &
ti
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South Africa, Egypt and the Gulf, Malaya and Hong Kong, that was
m
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once the close preserve of the British element in the ICS and the Army
do
is

was the institution from which the Indian Foreign Service was formed
Th

under the personal guidance of Pandit Nehru, the first Prime Minister
of India.
These reforms were facilitated by the momentous decision of Lord
Bentick to act on the recommendations of Lord Macaulay in 1835 to
spend public funds mainly on spread of English education and
31
 modern Western knowledge of Literature, Science, Mathematics, Law,
Art and Philosophy. This prepared the ground for steady substitution
of Persian by English as the official language and facilitated the
introduction of new laws such as a common criminal law in the form
of Indian Penal Code 1861 and the Indian Evidence Act based on
European Jurisprudence. Further the regulation introduced by Lord
Hardinge that all public services were to be filled by open competitive
examination and preference being given to the knowledge of English
facilitated rapid transformation of administration from medieval to a
system with some features of what we might call a modern state.
The purpose of this narration is to emphasize that together these
measures created a structure of a modern state with separation of
powers between executive and judiciary based on Rule of Law and
procedures established by Law and a structured civil service.

205

The aforestated evolution of Civil Service in India was inextricably related

to the rise and fall of the East India Company. (the subject of a highly informative
BBC documentary that was telecasted in July-September 2013 and suggested for

)
om
viewing). The milestones in this process between 1773 and 1858 the year of

l.c
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taking over administration directly by the crown with the appointment of a gm
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minister in-charge of India designated as Secretary of State for India with the
ah

power of superintendence and control over the functioning of the Governor

s
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General of India, who was also made the Viceroy, the crown representative make
h
(d

a fascinating study. Why this is relevant today is a valid question. The answer is
Sah

that the laws made by the British Parliament such as the systems and
al
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procedures for recruitment of Civil Servants that these laws introduced were a
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radical departure from the medieval governments that existed till then in India;
fo
ed

for instance the Charter Act of 1833 declared for the first time the policy to throw
is
al

open all high posts to Indian subjects regardless of religion, caste and creed a
on
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total departure from patronage based distribution of offices that was the norm for
pe
s
ti

all appointments in medieval kingdoms (Riyasat). However, the most important

en
m

development was the emergence of the concept of accountability a word

cu
do

commonly used today of those running the administration of British India i.e.
is

namely, the Covenanted Staff of the Company and their superiors the Governor
Th

General and Governors/Lt. Governors, Chief Commissioner etc. of the provinces

to the British Parliament. R. Coupland, in his Constitutional Problem of India
(Oxford University Press, 1944) called this development as Parliaments
acceptance of responsibility for its welfare which he argued was akin to trust.
The British Parliament therefore carried out periodically through its committees
32
critical review of the East India Companys administration in India and
intervened when it felt necessary by taking legislative and policy measures. These
reports usually the outcomes of painstaking efforts, contained invaluable
materials on the economic and social conditions of India. What one must note
that this accountability of the companys administration to an elected legislature
even though it was British Parliament and alien to India was itself and
unprecedented development because such a political arrangement and
accountability did not exist under the Mughal, Maratha or Sikh ruled states; in
these systems of various forms of autocracy Civil Administrators were only
answerable/accountable to the ruler, whose command was law and the power
absolute and unfettered. Herein lies the historical significance of the Regulating
Act 1772 and the legislations that followed as mentioned below expanding the
scope of the Parliamentary supervision and control ; and together, these
measures, somewhat unintentionally though, introduced institutions of modern
nation state in India as finally embodied in our constitution that we gave to
ourselves in 1950. The milestones of this process are summarized below*:
The Regulating act 1773 made 'East India Company' administration
accountable to the British Parliament and provided for appointment of
the Governor General by the crown and establishment of the Supreme

)
Court was the first step towards a modern state as such a political -

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l.c
administrative arrangement, didn't exist earlier in any period of
ai
gm
history in India. The other landmarks were the India Act. 1784, and
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Charter Acts of 1813, 1833, 1853. Warren Hastings, Governor of

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Bengal Presidency was appointed as the Governor General in 1773

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with powers of supervision over the other Presidencies of Madras and

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Bombay.
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The Pitts India Act 1784 established the Board of Control under the
w

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Parliament, to which the Companys Board of Directors were

fo

accountable for all its activities in India. The chairman of the Board of
ed
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Control was the Minister of incharge designated as Secretary of State

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for India.
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The Charter Act 1813 abolished the East India Companys monopoly
s
ti
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of India trade.
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The Charter Act 1833 abolished all trading activities of the company
do

and it was confined to administering directly the territories held by the

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Th

British. This was an extra ordinary arrangement of appointing a

Trading company as the Managing Agent for administering India by

*ibid, RC Majumdar An advanced History of India for full details of evolution of Civil
Administration in India.

33
 the British government.
The Charter Act of 1853 provided for appointment of 3 and later 6
Directors to be appointed by the Crown in the companys Board of
Directors comprising 18 directors (The Charter Acts were necessary for
renewal of the companys charter awarded by the crown for trading in
India).
The Queens Proclamation 1858, the Indian Councils Act 1861, GOI
Act 1919, and GOI Act 1935. Of these, the first four laws laid the
foundation of the Indian administration; the subsequent Acts were
framed in response to the demand for independence.
The Indian Councils Act 1861 provided for the first time a modern
central legislature as the Viceroys Council as it was called comprising
not less than 6 and not exceeding 12 members and was made
responsible for making laws and administering departments;
significantly it allowed for admission of non-officials as members;
and thus three Indians were nominated to the council in 1862. This
was the beginning of the process that led to the Parliament of today
after transfer of power.
Though the personnel, who held the covenanted posts were recruited
on 'patronage', initially, a system of examination was introduced in

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om
England in 1853 (under the Charter Act 1853) for recruitment to this

l.c
ai
cadre which became the I.C.S and reaffirmed in 1858 to make it open
gm
@

to all, including Indians. The nomenclature I.C.S was given statutory

ah
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recognition by The ICS Act 1861.

al
aw
h
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ah

206
S
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w
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The traditions, ethos and practices of the civil service were largely shaped
rD

during this period. The emphasis was on observance of Laws, Rules and
fo
ed

Procedures with accountability mainly to the authority and not to the people.
is
al

This led to recurring famines, the last horrific one was seen in 1943 - the Bengal
on
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Famine and communal riots often with tacit support of the state, a striking
pe
s
ti

instance of which was the Great Calcutta Killing on 16 august 1946 following a
en
m

call for Direct Action given by the Muslim League to press for Pakistan. These in
cu
do

turn facilitated 'The Divide and Rule Policy to perpetuate the British rule and its
is

pernicious execution that led to partition of India and beginning of other form of
Th

divisive politics. Though the British created modern institutions of governance

based on Rule of Law and Rights of Tax payers, they deviated rather cynically
from these norms and introduced separate electorates etc. to divide the Indians,
once the movement against the partition of Bengal in 1905-06 began and the
Swadeshi Movement got transformed in to a national movement of freedom.
34
 A strong 'hierarchy' resembling the Indian Caste System and broken in to
class I, II, III & IV categories of civil servants perpetuated a distant and
paternalistic (Mai-Baap Sarkar) system of administration especially in the field.

207

After this brief review of the growth of Civil Service in India,

independent of the rise of the concept of the modern state, it would be
worthwhile to give a quick look at the historical process that gave
birth to ideas, legal and institutional framework of the modern state.
This is critical as the Civil Service values of any country are
determined not by abstract ideas but by the degree to which a state
conforms to the idea of a modern state as it lays down the defining
features of State Civil Service Citizen interface. The historical
landmarks are summarized below:
The Magna Carta in England - 1215 Clause 12 the charter enshrined
the idea of the common consent to the levying of the taxes and that
the Tax payers have a say through their representatives, how the
Monarch should use tax proceeds and make laws to govern: Simon,
the Montforts summoning of the towns men in 1265 eventually laid to

)
King Henrys submission to the demand for appointment of a council

om
l.c
of 15 members that gave birth to the institution of parliamentary form
ai
gm
of democracy, Rule of Law and an apolitical civil service over a long
@

period, beginning from 1689 with the formation of limited monarchy in

ah
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England.
aw
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The Treaty of Westphalia 1648 - laid the basis of the nation state
ah

systems founded on hard power and authority of the government.

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w

The French Revolution (1789-99) and the principles of liberty, equality

ha
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and fraternity as the foundation of the state. The code Napoleon and
fo
ed

the rise of organised civil service in France with emphasis on training

is
al

of civil servants in the science and art of statecraft which was

on
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regarded as a form of high discipline. It is interesting to note that even

pe

before the French Revolution ended in 1790. Pondicherry, then a far

s
ti
en

flung French colony elected its first government in 1789. Though the
m
cu

franchise was restricted to the French denizens who constituted

do

hardly 2% of the population. Nevertheless Pondicherry could claim to

is
Th

be the cradle of Parliamentary Democracy in India. (The Statesman

editorial, 24th May 2016).
The American war of independence (1775-1783) and the declaration of
the Rights of Man and the doctrine of No Representation, No
Taxation.

35
 The Russian Revolution (1919) - The rise of the Peasants and Workers
State and its impact on post World War II - 'The Welfare State in UK,
under the Labour Party and its adoption in a number of nations like
Scandenevian countries, post war Germany, Holland, France, and in
most European countries and liberated nations like India in some
form or the other, the concept that the state has to ensure realization
of 'human capabilities and move towards a higher 'Human
Development Index' is now embedded in most 'modern' democracies
largely due to strong advocacy of 'economic' philosophers like Amartya
Sen, M. Haque, J. Stiglitz and others. This gives civil servants a big
role in all 'welfare state systems and public service delivery.

207

These developments have over the last three centuries have produced a
sort of consensus on what constitutes a modern state and its values and legal &
institutional frameworks. These are summed up below:
Rule of Law
Separation of power between Legislature, Executive and Judiciary
Secularism and treatment of all citizens as equal embedded in the

)
concept of equality before law.

om
l.c
Role of an independent judiciary
ai
gm
Peoples participation in government and accountability of the state to
@

the people and a critical role of local self governing institutions e.g.
ah
s
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PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institutions)

aw

An apolitical Civil Service and a structure of administration accessible

h

(d
ah

to the citizens and having capability for prompt response to citizens'

S
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needs & problems.

w
ha

An enlightened concept of 'Public Interest' that widens over time as

rD
fo

the idea of what constitutes public interest gets refined and broadened
ed

as the society progresses; as for example the concern for clean air,
is
al
on

water, and green environment, quality education are now a part of

rs

national as well as global development agenda.

pe
s

The emerging and evolving concepts of public service in the 21st

ti

en

century India and new demands on civil servants for delivering wide
m
cu

ranging 'public service' - from eradication of Dengue menace or high

do
is

incidence of anemia among the women, to assist the differently abled

Th

citizens conservation of forests and environment, formation of

economic growth or skill developments etc.; the list is vast, complex
and expanding.
'Transparency' is the next buzzword for which legal instruments like
the RTI Act or Whistle Blowers Act have been enacted which point to
36
 the need to redefine 'public duty'; the case of Sanjiv Chaturvedi, an
Indian Forest Service officer and recipient of the Magsasay Award in
2015, throws up challenging issues of probity, conduct, duties and
value systems of civil servants which have not been addressed as the
gap between precepts, Rules and practices seems to be getting wider
in reality, which calls for a redefinition of duties, discipline, & conduct
under the Rule Book. The ethical dilemma is present at all levels and
merits a close study.
The concept of duty of a Govt. Servant whether civil or military
enunciated in the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi War Criminals after World
War II constitutes one of the pillars of ethics of Civil Service as it laid
down that carrying out government orders which were prima facie
violative of human rights and basic canons of justice could not be
treated as 'valid defense' for such actions on the part of perpetrators of
these proven offence even when there was evidence that they acted
under the orders of the state.
This has to be read with the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
chapters on the fundamental rights and the duties of the citizens under the
constitution of India and the decisions of the Apex Court and National Human
Rights Commission. It may be mentioned that the chapter on the Fundamental

)
om
Duties of the citizens apply to the civil servants equally and it should be read

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with CCS Conduct Rules as well as the All India Services Conduct Rules.
ai
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ah

208
s
al
aw

What elements or mental outlook constitute a proper aptitude for a civil

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ah

servant is a difficult question in the above backdrop. Still some traits are time
S
al

tested which in the Indian context could be summarized as below:

w
ha
rD

Cultivation of interest in understanding how the Polity, Constitution

fo

and Administrative system has evolved and a keen interest in

ed
is

judgments of Apex Courts and the National Green Tribunal on

al
on

functioning of the Government and issues like Center-State Relations,

rs
pe

matters relating to 5th and 6th schedule areas, articles 370 & 371 of
s
ti

the constitution and our relations with neighbors e.g. LBA (Land
en
m

Boundary Agreements) with Bangladesh and developments in Nepal

cu
do

Bhutan and Myanmar.

is
Th

Real and not casual interest in other cultures and languages outside
ones own region and history, literature & traditions of such areas and
need to develop empathy for all parts of the nation. (Note the views of
B. Lewis, a scholar on Middle East that lack of interest in other
cultures was the main cause of fall of Ottoman Empire and continuing
decline of Islamic countries.)
37
 A wide reading habit and flair for writing about one's own experiences
in life and work and interest in subjects unrelated to what one might
have studied at the degree level.
A lively inquisitive spirit and interest in music, nature, wild life,
environment, sports and outdoor activities, capacity to appreciate
Laws, Rules and Regulations and the interest in administrative laws
and operation of local self-government institutions.
A mind free from prejudices and willing to test any preconceived
notions and open mind to leave a footprint by doing exemplary and
innovative work even in situations of grave difficulty e.g. the work of
A.M. Gokhale and R S Pandey in Nagaland in building communitarian
service delivery in Nagaland.
To consider 'Service' as a means of 'Self Development' towards
becoming 'a man' in the sense Vivekananda defined his man making
mission and not self-promotion to achieve narrow personal ambition
or professional goals.
o Capacity to build faith in the maxim that ' Law protects an
official' and not any individual and that to be fair and impartial is
not just proper, it leaves one spiritually healthy and stronger in
professional ability.
Cultivation of a sense of pride in leading the life of the 'non-rich' or

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om
'non-affluent' as this has its own strengths and joys.

l.c
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References:
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s
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aw

1. Kishore Mahbubani Can Singapore Survive?

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(d

2. NGT Land mark Judgements An article by Shree Rangan Dutta

S ah

3. Jairam Ramesh Green Signals

al
w
ha

4. W. Dalrymple The East India Company The First Raiders

rD

5. Tirthankar Roy The East India Company The Worlds Most Powerful Corporation
fo
ed

6. RC Majumdar - An Advanced History of India. (Chapters on Modern India & Growth of

is
al

Internal Administration)
on
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7. J. Dreze and Sen India An Uncertain Glory

pe

8. J. Stighitz The Great Divide

s
ti
en

9. Bernard Lewis What Went Wrong

m
cu
do

Further Reading:
is
Th

Michael Edwards Raj The Story of British India

R C Dutt Economic History of India, Volume I & II National Book Trust.
Bertrand Russell, Legitimacy vs. Industrialism.

38
 CHAPTER THREE

Contributions of Moral Thinkers and

Philosophers of India and Abroad on Ethics and
its Impact on the Value System of the Civil
Service
_________________________________________

300

The word 'Ethics', a plural noun is derived from the Latin word 'ethice' and
the Greek word 'ethike' meaning variously as science of morals and based on
ethos or a branch of knowledge concerned with moral principles. The word
ethos, is also of Greek origin on the other hand, means the characteristic spirit

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om
of a culture, an era or community as manifested in its attributes and

l.c
ai
aspirations. Since the dawn of civilization with the beginning of agriculture,
gm
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family, and private property, and generation of surplus that facilitated

ah
s

exchange/barter and then trade with money as the medium of exchange, human
al
aw

behavior was conditioned both by material as well as considerations of what was

h
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good and proper and what was not so - largely on some abstract thoughts, which
Sah

we call philosophy; this was the outcome of the thinking of 'the leisured class' of
al
w
ha

men in all civilizations at all times, who had time to contemplate and put down
rD

their ideas for others to learn and follow and they also preached. While some
fo
ed

convergence of these ideas did take place, there was always some divergence in
is
al

ethics in different societies as their 'ethos' necessarily varied; nonetheless some

on
rs

common moral principles constituting ethics have emerged in relation to

pe
s
ti

governance of a modern state as defined in the previous lecture which are

en
m

embodied in the Constitution, Laws and Jurisprudence, Rules and Procedures,

cu
do

Systems and Practices, Policies and Directives including the manner of dealing
is
Th

with citizens and their grievances. These principles constitute the underlying
ethics of governance - a kind of Laxman Rekha that the state and its
functionaries are not expected to cross; and these have to be discerned as these
principles are sometimes unstated and brought out in the court judgements.
Though in real life we might observe deviations but it does not mean that
these are getting accepted as norms but remain aberrations. The strength of a
39
nation, polity or society is judged by its capacity to deal with these aberrations
firmly and to re affirm the ethics of governance. The instances like the 'Watergate
scandal in US that led to the ouster of President Nixon, Promulgation of
Emergency by Indira Gandhi and its peaceful termination, the judgement of
Supreme Court in Karunanidhi's case and enunciation of the basic structure
doctrine of the constitution in Keshavananda Bhartis case are indicative of the
strength of the polity to effectively deal with aberrations in order to make course
corrections.

301

Vivekananda was the first to bring to the notice of the west during his first
visit to the US in 1893 the influence of Samkhya thought on Pythagoras, the
Greek philosopher; Samkhya Philosophy was the first attempt to harmonize the
philosophy of Vedas with reason. He referred to Patanjali's concept of one species
being changed in to another by the 'infilling of the nature' implying that each
man is infinite already, only circumstances shut him in but as soon as they are
removed, he was manifested as man; as soon as filling circumstances came the
god in man manifested itself. The real individual is therefore absolute; it is
finding of its oneness and the struggle to find this oneness is what he called

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om
ethics and morality'. This sums up as Indian view of Ethics that should guide

l.c
ai
relations between individuals; meditation is a means to realization of truth, yoga,
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a concentration of the mind that brings to man every truth in the universe.
ah

Civilization is the manifestation of that divinity in the man is the core message of
s
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Vivekananda.
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(d
ah

In Arthashastra, Kautilya defined the ethics of state - Rajdharma as

S
al

whatever pleases himself the king shall not consider as good but whatever
w
ha

pleases his subjects, he shall consider as good. The king exercised supreme
rD
fo

executive and judicial powers and assisted by Mantri Parishad; there were
ed

tribunals of justice and officials in-charge of Janapadas and Mahajanapadas

is
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on

and Pradeshas. Taxes of lands which were one sixth of the produce were
rs
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collected by Agronomi and autonomous communities flourished. Local

s
ti

administration of the cities and other large habitations were carried out by
en
m

committees consisting of cross- sections of the population in the form of city or

cu
do

village councils. In times of natural calamities, the state was required to provide
is
Th

seeds, food in the form of relief. The officials were to follow strictly a code of
conduct and any deviation attracted prompt and exemplary penalty; even the
hereditary officials were not exempted from disciplinary actions. The state was to
expand the range of public goods, like roads, irrigation, ports, river transport
systems, roadside tree plantations and rest houses for the travellers. H.G. Wells
in his Short History of the World paid glowing tributes to Emperor Ashoka for
40
his concern for the well-being of the citizens material and spiritual that had no
parallel in history.
The messages engraved on the Ashokan pillars defined Buddhist
Philosophy and the Ethics which can be summed up in terms of five principles of
ethics that should guide human life and activities as follows:
Satkarma (Honest Work)
Sadbodh (Honest Values)
Sadchinta (Honest Thoughts)
Sadbhav (Friendliness)
Satsang (Good Company)
These values are to be emulated by the Civil Service at all levels and are
relevant today. The Buddhist state placed ethics as its foundation and promotion
of ethics as the object of the state. Buddha was a social reformer and was one of
the Sannyasins of the Vedanta said Vivekananda.

302

Of the three treatises of Aristotle on ethics, Bertrand Russell felt that his

)
om
third work Nicomachean Ethics remains for the most part unquestioned as to

l.c
its authenticity. Aristotles concept of ethics is explained in following
ai
gm
propositions:
@
ah
s

Good is happiness which is an activity of the soul divided in to

al
aw

rational and irrational the latter broken into vegetative and

h
(d

appetitive; appetitive includes mans capacity to reason which Aristotle

S ah

defined as contemplative.
al
w
ha

Virtues are of two kinds, moral and intellectual being, the outcomes of
rD
fo

habits and teaching/learning respectively. Every virtue is a mean

ed

between two extremes, for example, truth is a mean between

is
al
on

boastfulness and mock modesty.

rs
pe

The state/law is to create an enabling environment to make citizens

s
ti
en

good by helping them to form good habits.

m
cu

The highest virtue is for the few.

do
is
Th

Virtues are a means to an end, namely happiness.

Russell divides ethical theories in to two classes according as they
regard virtue as an end or means. We must note here that Gandhi ji
argued that means must be virtuous for noble ends. By this criteria,
he considered the British rule in India as the satanic state.

41
 On the relationship of ethics to politics, Aristotle subordinates former
to the latter as man is a political creature; hence good of the
community should be his utmost concern even when it brings pain
to some parts of the community. This leaves the door open to state
can do no wrong hypothesis.
Aristotles idea of friendship and pleasures good and bad as he
classified the same are founded on virtues and contemplative part of
human mind; the supreme happiness, he argued, is the exercise of
the reason for reason more than anything else is man. This forms the
core of Aristotles philosophy.
In the 20th Century, M.N. Roy followed this line and argued in his classic
Reason, Romanticism and Revolution that reason always activates human mind
towards change in existing social and political order. Reason therefore has to be
the basis of Civil Service Ethics a mental faculty essential to administer public
policy because the idea of justice is founded on reason.
Platos idea of the Guardians meaning lawmakers and those who execute
policies is formed on the concept of justice and fair play, and thus rejects the
misuse of power for personal gains as vice. While right from the days of Bentham
and the utilitarians in England to present day thinkers like Amartya Sen, justice

)
om
is interpreted as equality and equal treatment. Plato and Aristotle had different

l.c
ai
ideas; they thought that some men by virtue of their character and aptitude have
gm
@

a wider sphere of activities than others and hence fit to be The Guardians. There
ah
s

is thus no injustice, if they enjoy greater share of happiness. The hierarchy of the
al
aw

Greek city state and its polity was built on this theory.
h
(d
ah

Aristotle was unemotional in his scheme of ethics which has no place for
S
al

philanthropy or benevolence. One must remember that slavery was the basis of
w
ha

the economy of the Greek city state.

rD
fo
ed
is

303
al
on
rs
pe

The redeeming feature of Gandhian ethics is that Gandhi reduced God to

s
ti

truth, a fundamental shift from his initial position to which he tried to

en
m

approximate truth to God. He said, Ahimsa is my God and truth is my God; this
cu
do

explains the other aspects of his ethics fearlessness; to Gandhi, truth was, a
is
Th

many sided phenomenon and that the people must be tolerant, open and accept
other peoples perception of the truth. From Tolstoys The Kingdom of God
Within Gandhi developed his belief that individual conscience is superior to any
form of government. From Ruskin, Gandhi learned three principles which
constitute the core of his ethics

42
 1. That the good of the individual is contained in the good of all;
2. That all have the same rights of earning their livelihoods from their
work and that a life of labor is the life worth living.
3. He was firm in his belief that the nature has everything to meet
mans need but not his greed; this is the ethical basis of what we
call today sustainable development and ethical consumerism.
At the core of Gandhi's world view was passive or non violent direct
action. Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state has
become lawless. It was not the weapon of weak and not passive as it
requires intense activity; his nephew Maganlal Gandhi suggested
Sadagraha which Gandhiji amended to Satyagraha - firmness in a
good cause; meaning search for Satya - truth or soul which implies
love while Graha implies firmness and force - a legitimate moral and
truthful form of political action for the people against the injustices of
state.
Satyagraha included winning over the enemy with love, self suffering
and by applying the right means the means may be likened to a seed,
the end to a tree; and there is just the same inviolable connection
between the means and the end as there is between the seed and the

)
tree. We reap exactly as we sow said Gandhi in Hind Swaraj.

om
l.c
Anyone could be a satyagrahi; truth is relative and it is what
ai
gm
everyone for the moment feels it to be. This relative truth was his
@
ah

beacon...shield and buckler until he found the absolute truth. Gandhi

s
al

blamed violence on the mob who have no mind and no premeditation

aw
h

and act in a frenzy; hence the need to create a selfless dedicated and
(d
ah

enlightened group of workers who lead the masses and prevent them
S
al

from being misguided. Gandhi wrote he endeavored humbly to follow

w
ha
rD

Tolstoy Ruskin, Thoreau, Emerson and other writers besides the

fo

masters of Indian philosophy. Gandhi sent a copy of Hind Swaraj to

ed
is

Tolstoy - Tolstoy left an abiding impression on me

al
on

Clause 3 of the Trust deed of Phoenix settlement reads as to follow

rs
pe

and promote the ideals set forth by Tolstoy and Ruskin in their life
s
ti
en

and works.
m
cu

From William Saltars Ethical Religion 1889, Gandhi drew the lesson
do

that actions are only moral when they are consciously and willfully
is
Th

undertaken for good purposes and non moral when people act out of
fear and coercion -(It stands as ethics for the civil servant).
The aim of Satyagraha was not destruction but construction and to
deal with causes rather than symptoms (Gandhi spent most of the
period between 1888 and 1914 in England and South Africa).

43
 Gandhi summed up the first word of Upanishads as God occupies
everything in this universe, thus nothing actually belongs to us if we
renounce everything we become Gods responsibility and will be looked
after. With this renunciation of Worldly accumulation the spiritual
part is revealed

304

Ambedkars Ethics was founded on justice and equality in nature as he

found no rationale behind untouchability and the cruel disabilities it imposes on
the victims. He put more emphasis on emancipation social and spiritual and
enlightenment that could remove untouchability rather than political freedom.
He famously observed in the constituent assembly on 4th November 1948,
constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment. It has to be cultivated. We
must realize that our people are yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only top
dressing on Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.
In his Buddha and His Dhamma Ambedkar interpreted the Philosophy of
Karma differently to mean a moral law in which all actions had consequences
though these were not necessarily to be borne by a particular individual but
would work themselves out at the social level. He rejected Karma as rebirth and
transmigration of the soul. Buddha, according to Ambedkar stood for rationality
and sought to apply Buddhas teaching to deal with the social conflict. By his

)
om
logic, the practice of untouchability the Kamma (he preferred the Pali word

l.c
ai
Kamma for Karma) that caused degradation of the Hindu society and its gm
sufferings.
@
ah

305
s
al
aw

Put together, one would notice a common thread emphasis on truth,

h
(d

justice, equality and by implication the need for a code of conduct for all
S ah

responsible for discharge of public duties; civil servants are a part of this
al
w

structure and hence in doing their work they must not only be just and fair but
ha
rD

appear to be so for a very special and personal reason as it is their karma,

fo

probably the main, in addition to what they do in their private life. He has to bear
ed
is

the burden of his total karma because it affects the lives of others; the
al
on

consequences of karma are not initially discernable to ones mind but over a
rs
pe

period of time with a bit of knowledge of the spiritual world and conscience one
s
ti

would be able to realize it but then as it could not be undone because it would be
en
m

too late for the person to avoid suffering due to the consequences of his Karma in
cu
do

his own life; and most importantly this can not be passed on to his subsequent
is

birth. Thus, as individuals, the civil servants are accountable for their karma to
Th

themselves primarily and then to the society which has its own way of passing
judgment on the work of all entrusted with public duty. Approbation of the
general public is the legacy that every conscientious civil servant would like to
leave behind and that requires strict adherence to the civil servants code of
conduct founded on the ethics of governance evolved over centuries and

44
articulated in the writings of Philosophers. While these thoughts are the
touchstones, the real force is ones own conscience and character. The value
systems are not difficult to learn but hard to cultivate as they require character
built in Vivekanandas man making mode that states, strength is life, and
weakness is death.
Even if a civil servant is fully aware of the precepts of ethics mentioned
above i.e. knowledge which is not enough of a motivation to adopt; because
knowledge is simply a perception, as John Locke observed, and is of three types,
intuitive, demonstrative of Gods and sensitive, of things present to sense. In this
background, Russells argument that moral worth exists only when a man acts
from a sense of duty, comes close to the concept of Karma. Only a rational being
has the power of acting according to the idea of justice and propriety embedded
in law by his will. This process of formulation of the will and compelling to the
will by a positive response is what Kant called, the command of reason an
imperative objectively necessary without regard to the end and this in keeping
with the idea of karma in Bhagwat Gita.
Sir Ernest Gowers7 quoted some precepts so succinctly laid down for the
Egyptian Civil servants some thousands of years ago that they hold good word
for civil service even today.
Be courteous and tactful as well as honest and diligent.
All your doings are publicly known, and must therefore

)
om
l.c
Be beyond complaint or criticism. Be absolutely impartial.
ai
gm
Always give a reason for refusing a plea; complainants
@
ah

Like a kindly hearing even more than a successful

s
al
aw

Plea. Preserve dignity but avoid inspiring fear.

h
(d
ah

Be an artist in words, that you may be strong, for

S
al
w

The tongue is a sword

ha
rD
fo

Reference:
ed
is
al
on

1. Advaita Ashram Selections from the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (Page 90 At
rs

the Harvard University Discussion)

pe
s

2. H G. Wells A Short history of the world

ti
en

3. Bertrand Russell A History of Western Philosophy, Unpopular Essays

m
cu

4. M. N. Roy Reason, Romanticism & Revolution

do

5. The South African Gandhi - Stretcher - Bearer of Empire (2015 Nayanaya publication) Desai &
is
Th

Vahed
6. Gail Omvedt Ambedkar: Towards an Enlightened India
7. The Complete Plain Words (Pelican Book, 1972) Sir Ernest Gowers (This is a must for anyone
keen to improve his or her English composition skills)

45
 CHAPTER FOUR

General Principles of Ethics and Value System in

Civil Services, Corporate Governance and
International Relations
________________________________________

400

I. Civil/Public Service Values and Ethics

Public Civil Service in the 21st century Nation States functions today in
such a fast changing socio-economic and technological environment that the
administrative culture is totally different from what was prevalent even at the
dawn of this century, not to speak of the period when (19th & 20th Century) most

)
om
of the laws, rules etc that, we follow now, were formulated. Perhaps human

l.c
ai
history may now be divided into Pre and Post mobile phone and IT based gm
communication systems.
@
ah
s

A dichotomy exists in most areas between systems of governance which are

al
aw

largely documentation based and the actual behavior of the citizens and how the
h
(d
ah

citizens conduct their day to day business and express their views through
S
al

Twitter, Facebook etc., which produces the state citizen interface; e-governance
w
ha

is a part of this effort to bridge this gap. A constant tension between citizens and
rD
fo

providers of public service is a feature common to all developing countries. This

ed
is

contextualization is necessary as the civil service in India like other arms of the
al
on

government has one foot in the colonial period and the other foot in the ever
rs
pe

slippery modern world. A balancing act in this scenario is extremely difficult.

s
ti
en

This is the basic issue that the Administrative Reforms Commission has been
m
cu

trying to address in its reports. However, e-governance and greater use of

do
is

technology could improve service delivery functioning of departments and help

Th

towards decision making but these can be no substitute for a process of decision
making which requires application of mind by an individual Civil Servant. These
are tools and it must be remembered that laws usually deal with what cannot be
done and do not help to resolve and ethical dilemma positively.

46
401

The ethical issues relating to Civil Service are evident to citizens in the
Indian situation at two levels organization and individuals; the former being
subsumed in the idea of the state and gets mixed up with the government, its
policies and norms while the latter is viewed as a case of individual succeeding or
failing to meet the ethical standards of conduct in discharging duties in a kind of
stand alone manner unconnected with the image or pattern of organizational
behavior. In fact, the society expects individual officials to be different from the
usual image of the department; which seems irrational at first because an
individual comes to share sometimes willingly by falling in line with the rest of
the Civil Servants; it is possible however that even while being in tune with the
organizations behavior generally, the official may still retain the capacity to
refuse to compromise with certain core values of the Civil Service. This conflict is
evident from the acts of a whistle blower which is promoted under the Whistle
Blower Act in the US and in India also it is being treated as a positive ethical
conduct; and this suggests ironically a living contradiction, a kind of anti-ethics
element like anti-body in human body in the sense that while some values are
maximized and some others are devalued or minimized in the organization
depending on the character of the leadership and the interest of the organization

)
om
in a given situation. Such instances are falsification of criminal case records,

l.c
ai
inadequate investigation, preparation and filing of shoddy charge sheets under
gm
@

extraneous influences leading to denial of justice while the concerned police

ah
s

department continue to retain its position. Mary E Guy has identified ten critical
al
aw

values under the acronym CHAPELFIRZ namely, Caring, Honesty,

h
(d
ah

Accountability, Promise Keeping, Pursuit of Excellence, Loyalty, Fairness,

S

Integrity, Respect for Others, and Responsible Citizenship, which every member
al
w
ha

expects to cultivate and apply in the work in high measure; in practice however
rD

only some values are selectively maximized while others are minimized which
fo
ed

betrays opportunism, ostensibly in the interest of the department. This results in

is
al
on

the gap in the delivery of the quality services.

rs
pe

Unethical conduct therefore is the outcome of the situation when such a

s
ti
en

compromise is made in large measure even without rocking the boat i.e. by
m
cu

securing the protection of the departmental interests. This is a prescription for

do

perpetuating misgovernance as evident from the cases of false encounters,

is
Th

medical negligence, custodial deaths, initiation of criminal cases under

extraneous influence and without strong evidence and often done on selective
basis etc. To eradicate incidence of such acts is a challenge before Civil Servants.
For this, it is necessary to prioritize the values to fix what Mary E Guy called
beacons for optimizing service outputs by putting emphasis on the two Ps and

47
FHI of the above set of values. The top management could achieve it only by
constant supervision for ensuring that the beacons selected are maximized and
maintained and that no compromise is made for expediency at the cost of
integrity, honesty and sincerity. The organization must have commitment to
justice and consider loyalty to the society as superior to any narrow loyalty to
the department. Mary Guy concludes with a statement the challenge is to
develop a balance between individual conscience and organizational conscience
as well as congruence between them in the organization. In reality, however, this
is a problem area and conscious efforts are needed to improve ethical standards
by evaluating the performance in terms of values represented by the acronym
CHARELFIRZ; it may be useful to institute annual awards to Civil Servants who
have displayed exemplary courage in standing by the ethical standards as
whistle blowers, for instance, not only to raise quality of public service but also
public confidence in governance.
It is possible to conclude that in practice the top management is always in
a position to ensure that the staff understand how differences in adoption of
beacons priorities could make a difference in their performance and the image
of the department by producing a behavioral pattern either close or distant from
the norms laid down under the rules and code of conduct. Therefore, to produce

)
quality service for the public the high officials are to sensitize the staff through

om
l.c
training about this conflict and internalize it as the part of the organizational
ai
gm
behavior for optimization of results beneficial to the public. It must also be
@
ah

stressed that while some rotten apples may exist in every branch of
s
al

government, they may not succeed in causing erosion of credibility of the

aw
h

department in the eyes of the people if majority of the members of any Civil
(d
ah

Service cadre succeeds in following the value systems embodied in CHAPELFIRZ

S
al

in good measure by rising to the high standards without ever exchanging honesty
w
ha
rD

and integrity with expediency.

fo
ed
is

402
al
on
rs
pe

These values are to be seen not as abstract values but elements of the
s
ti

concept of administrative justice in which observance of procedures is as

en
m

important as laws because the procedures are made/laid down under the canons
cu
do

of natural justice; this is the origin of the procedural rights as for instance the
is
Th

provision of show cause notice to give a person a chance to state his case which
has acquired a sanctity as its non observance amounts to denial of justice and
equity. Even in other administrative actions like distribution of calamity relief or
assistance to homeless under Indira Awas Yojana, fairness is a critical value.
Under the concept of justice propounded by John Rawls, principle of fairness in

48
fashioning meaning delivering social justice has been accorded the central
virtue, the government institutions are expected to realize which determines in
fact all other values because in the absence of fairness other values stand
negated. It is like salt in preparation of food and therefore fairness should be the
guiding principle in the exercise of discretionary powers under laws and policies.
Fairness must be present in procedures through, what is called, due process
and fair treatment.
These expectations carry much weight and suggests the role of Civil
Servants as what Kass called a constitutional stewardship in US where the
career administrators as in India discharge agency functions and exercise
powers under Statues in their own right in a constitutional democracy and
therefore act as the stewards of public interest. Kass therefore concluded
that proper role of public administration is one of constitutional balance
wheel and agent. This idea of stewardship has to be kept in mind while dealing
with any question on the ethics of Civil Service because core values are
sacrosanct and can not be compromised.

403

Values, Ethics and Problem Areas

)
om
l.c
ai
Value systems and ethics of civil administration in India were largely gm
@

shaped by the British on the 18-19th Century ideas of the British liberal
ah
s

Philosophers and nascent socialist ideas, which were introduced in a

al
aw

paternalistic and exploitative colonial rule. Pandit Nehrus famous description of

h
(d
ah

the ICS, as Neither Indian, nor Civil, nor Service sums up the nationalistic
S
al

assessment of the Pre 1947* civil service. Despite reforms carried out after 1950,
w
ha

some of these values and norms still exist because of continuity of the laws and
rD
fo

systems of administration as for example, during 2015 the Defense Accounts

ed

Department celebrated 268th year of its founding in 1747. These values are
is
al
on

summarized below:
rs
pe

A high sense of duty and honor and capacity for a rational self-
s
ti
en

assessment.
m
cu
do
is

*John Bright, The Honble MP of British Parliament and a just critique of colonial rule in India
Th

echoed these sentiments when he submitted that the government of India is guided by
opinions of the ICS mainly and they are not payers of taxes; they are the spenders and the
enjoyers of the taxes The Civil Service being privileged is arrogant tyrannousand the
military service, which as everywhere else where it is not checked by the resolution of the tax
payers and civilians, is clamorous and insatiable for greater expenditure as quoted in India
Before and After Mutiny P C Ray.

49
 An abiding faith in continuity with change.
A high level of professionalism thorough knowledge of Laws, Rules,
Regulations and Bylaws, Executive Instructions, precedents and case
laws which are considered basic tools of a civil servant, enabling him
to acquire a leadership role in his work. The core values of public
service are sanctity of the Rule of law and the due process of law,
accountability, efficiency, responsiveness, neutral competence
meaning unbiased efficiency, objectivity and fairness on which
professionalism is built.
Emphasis on articulation in words written and spoken with tact and
moderation, performing generally a balancing act avoiding an extreme
position.
A deep inquisitive mind with a flair for writing and interest in social
economic and political environment.
A commitment to probity, honesty and integrity in private life because
a member of a higher civil service is always under the glare of the
public a kind of existence in a glass house there being no fine
distinction between private and public life for a Civil Servant of a
higher cadre.
Conscious effort to project an impartial, sober, broad minded, and

)
om
enlightened image while discharging public duties and willingness to

l.c
ai
help the public cause. gm
@

Adherence to strict political neutrality and avoidance of any direct or

ah
s

indirect involvement in local politics to avoid generation of any trust

al
aw

deficit in any section of the people living in the charge of a civil

h
(d
ah

servant.
S
al

Respect for official hierarchy and commitment to abide by the system,

w
ha

its internal dynamics and the civil service chain of command.

rD
fo

Understanding of the socio-economic development process and

ed

sensitivity to the issues like caste, communal harmony, poverty, rights

is
al
on

of women and children, cleanliness and any form of social injustice or

rs
pe

discrimination.
s
ti

Thorough knowledge and understanding of state policies regulatory

en
m

and development as well as the process and method of implementation

cu
do

of such schemes and policy initiatives.

is
Th

Select an area of administration in early stage that might attract an

officials intellect, such as agriculture or rural development, poverty
alleviation, upliftment of the disadvantaged or isolated groups like the
tribals, economic and industrial developments as core competence to
avoid what Parkinson called level of incompetence that every Civil
Servant has to encounter at some stage in his or her career which is
50
 often unnoticed but it is a reality; and it is essential to carve out a
place in a highly competitive world. Core competence is something
more than specialization, derived from deep understanding of a
subject but more importantly appreciation of interconnected nature of
any development activity that the Civil Servant could bring to bear on
national development as his expertise. This will enable the Civil
Servant to beat the iron law of the average that applies to every cadre
and a successful Civil Servant is the one who rises above this average
by securing an extra edge that makes all the difference between say a
pilot and an ace pilot.
A certain pride in leading a non-rich lifestyle and capacity to interact
with all sections of the people especially the disadvantaged and
capacity to empathize with their conditions.

404

Notwithstanding the empowerment of the local self-government institutions

to bring about a decentralized and responsive administration and creation of
institutions like the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), Lokayukta, Lok
Adalats, and measures like e-governance and reservation policies, the civil

)
om
service systems and methods remain Rule bound, conservative, Pro-status quo

l.c
ai
and thus slow to adopt new innovations. In this backdrop, following problemgm
@

areas are visible:

ah
s
al

The perception among the officials that some posts are mainstream,
aw

good and some others not so good or marginal leads to a mindset

h
(d
ah

willing to please those who matter in postings; this forms the basis of
S
al

politician-official nexus, facilitated also by lack of code of conduct

w
ha

for politicians. In UK, for instance, such a situation is

rD
fo

unthinkable.
ed
is

Weak professionalism as it is thus relegated as a value to lower

al
on

priority caused by willingness to oblige the powerful.

rs
pe

Declining creativity. In the initial years after independence, civil

s
ti

servants played an important role as change agents and took active

en
m

part in policy making in areas such as agriculture and rural

cu
do

development, development of industries and infrastructure and social

is
Th

reforms. Innovations to deal with these challenges were also put in

place in tribal administration for instance. In the wake of liberalization
from 1990s, however, one notices a kind of weakening of this
creativity and the evident tendency on the part of the civil service to go
by views of the leaders of the industry in matters such as, use of

51
 natural resources or land without due recognition of the rights of
other stakeholders. These are instances of civil servants compromising
their position and have been brought out in court Judgements which
caused damage to civil service as an institution.
Failure of leadership in the civil service in the states and also at the
center to ensure proper career planning, and growth of
professionalism which has caused frustration and negativism among a
section of the civil servants.
These problems are intensified by the change in the composition of the
political class, following the entry into public life of classes and professions who
stand to benefit hugely by being in the drivers seat. This has totally changed the
old civil service politician relations because the new political class is yet to
develop a mature concept of either public interest or public service and tend to
confuse them with sectional family or group interests; since the political
executive has the final say, the legitimacy of the decision of the government is
often questioned in a court of law or media, that leaves the Civil Servant in a
state of doubt about their role; and as the spectre of spoils system looms large
in the horizon, the civil servants work in the environment of uncertainty. This is
commonly seen in state administration, public sector undertakings and local

)
self-government institutions and finds expressions in what is called Transfer

om
l.c
industry in some states generating demoralization in the ranks of civil servants
ai
gm
and consequent fall in the quality of public service.
@
ah
s
al

405
aw
h
(d
ah

II. Ethics in Corporate Organization Main issues and Challenges

S
al
w
ha

The word corporate includes in legal sense companies registered under the
rD
fo

Companies Act and also Co-operative societies. Our discussion is restricted to

ed

joint stock companies, the principal instrument of private/corporate sector. The

is
al
on

concept of joint stock company is an European innovation to finance trade,

rs
pe

commerce and industries - a product of Renaissance, discovery of the Americas

s
ti

and the sea route to India and far East and an answer to meet the large demand
en
m

for the capital for exploration and use of natural resource and later industries.
cu
do

Its chief features are:

is
Th

I. Limited liability of shareholders to the number of shares only;

II. Easy mobilization of capital;
III. A management structure accountable to shareholders; and
marketability of shares;
IV. Capacity to diversify its activities. Corporate laws were made flexible to

52
 allow growth of giant conglomerates taking up diverse activities like
Zaibatsu in Japan running groups of companies engaged in multiple
activities. Over the years giant monopolies emerged in US which led to
Anti-Trust laws.
In India competition laws have been enforced to restrict growth of monopolies
and to prevent unfair trade practices; the functioning of the corporates has
become highly complicated after trade liberalizations and global corporates are
seen to compete with sovereign states with the deft use of their larger financial
outreach, which led some experts to call this development corporatization of the
world economy and financialization of the economy through control of mutual
funds or even pension funds as fund managers and the mechanism of currency
speculations. The entry of industrial houses in Indian mutual fund industry may
be seen in this regard.

406

To understand ethical issues in corporate governance, theory and practice

of corporate governance must be noted which begins with the position that the
shareholders are the owners of the company and therefore legally are the
Principals responsible for defining the objects of the company. The management,

)
om
l.c
including the Board of Directors, either appointed or selected are the Agents
ai
gm
who in theory are to implement the objects set by the principals. In practice,
@
ah

however, Agents objects could be different and such misalignments are called
s
al

Agency problem and the cost inflicted by such dissonance is the Agency cost.
aw
h

The theory of corporate governance is all about putting in place disclosures,

(d
ah

monitoring, oversight (supervisory function), and corrective system designed to

S
al
w

align the objectives of the two players, namely, shareholders and the
ha
rD

management as closely as possible and hence minimize Agency cost. In a public

fo
ed

sector company theoretically there should be no such problem but in reality,

is
al

labor relations when they go wrong - do create Agency problem. The Agency
on
rs

costs are of two types, arising out of a separation of ownership from management
pe
s

due to vast dispersal of shareholding limiting shareholders interest to only

ti
en

returns on investments which is even seen in the behavior of large institutional

m
cu

investors like LIC, or Pension Funds; as for example, 50% of the shareholders of
do
is

MSIL (Maruti Suzuki Industries Limited) did not vote even on an important
Th

matter like the project in Gujrat to manufacture cars by Suzuki Motors Gujrat
and purchase and sale of cars manufactured there by MSIL. The second type is
arising out of a situation of de facto uncontrolled managerial playing fields that
allows the paid executives to run the company, diversify its activities by taking
strategic decisions such as floating a subsidiary, incurring liabilities and helping
53
themselves generously by grant of bonus and availing share options. The
consequence of these two types of Agency cost is a fall in efficiency and long term
loss of corporate values. It is pertinent to recall what Adam Smith wrote about
this development in his Wealth of Nations.
The Directors of such companies, however being managers of other
peoples money, it can not be well expected that would watch over it with the
same anxious vigilance with which the partners in a private co-partnery
frequently watch over their own negligence and profusion therefore must
always prevail more or less in the management of affairs of such a company.
In this background, it would be imprudent and unrealistic to expect that a
large corporation could be run in full measure in conformity with corporate
ethics as some allowance may have to be made for human frailties and greed.
The experience of the great depression 1930, stock market scam in India in
1992, Asian currency crisis 1997-98, which the then Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Dr. Mohatir Mohammed felt was caused by global currency speculators, US
.COM bubble in 2001, Enron debacle, the revelation of auditing lacunae that led
to the collapse of Anderson, subprime mortgage crisis in US in 2007-08, collapse
of Lehman brothers and the continuing great recession, from 2007 to 2008 debt
crisis in Greece and Spain and the fact that the world economy is still to recover

)
om
l.c
from recession indicate the need for stronger measures of corporate governance.
ai
gm
It may be mentioned that in US Sarbanes-Oxly Act was introduced to bring about
@
ah

improvement in corporate governance in the areas of

s
al
aw

(a) auditors independence and avoidance of conflicts of interests

h
(d
ah

(b) well defined corporate responsibility

S
al
w

(c) enhanced financial disclosure and

ha
rD

(d) severe penalty.

fo
ed

In India the absence of a specifically designated agency to deal with issues of

is
al
on

corporate fraud as evident from the stock market scams was noted by the Naresh
rs
pe

Chandra committee on corporate governance in 2002 and it recommended

s
ti

setting up of a multi-purpose body in the form of the Serious Fraud Investigation

en
m

Office (SFIO). Apart from investigating serious cases of fraud which it can take
cu
do

up only after receiving approval of the central government and prosecuting the
is
Th

offenders, its actions are expected to produce a deterrent effect and induce the
corporates to adopt practices conducive to efficient corporate governance,
however, this measure alone will hardly improve matters unless the law
enforcement agencies are strengthened and policies made to effectively deal with
the following structural issues.

54
 Most corporates are having low equity and high debt which is called
adverse debt equity ratio and much of the corporate growth and income
has been credit-term loan driven and the promoters usually owning
majority of the equity shares rather cheaply.
In many corporates 75% of the equity consists of family owned shares and
the owners therefore are protected against take overs; and equity
ownership is camouflaged through complex cross holdings.

407

While these features may not result or likely to engage in value destroying,
they could do many things to deprive minority shareholders of their de jure
ownership rights without adversely affecting pre or post tax profits such as
issuing Preferential Equity to promoters or their allies at discounts, fixing
elections to the board and appointment of crony directors. These add to the
Agency costs and depreciation of the share value and the phenomena of
vanishing companies or utilizing shareholders money to buy small companies at
exorbitant prices. Consequently wealth generated is not fairly shared. To sum up
the effects of high Agency costs are expropriation of shareholder value even by
efficiently run corporations due to disjunction between ownership and control.

)
om
The main issue of corporate governance therefore is how to reduce the Agency

l.c
ai
cost and the instruments that could reduce it. These instruments are: gm
@

Improvement in the quality of supervision and independent oversight

ah
s
al

management; and frequency of financial and non-financial disclosures

aw

with the object of minimizing value destroying and risky ventures.

h
(d
ah

As a part of independent oversight system appointment of

S
al

independent statutory auditors is an imperative need and ensuring

w
ha

that the auditors do have strict arms length independent

rD
fo

relationships with the management of the company and are in no way

ed
is

connected with them in a relationship such as consultancy that

al
on

creates a patron-client relationship impairing the auditors

rs
pe

independence and unbiased role essential for corporate governance.

s
ti

Ensuring independence of the board by suitable composition enabling

en
m

board to adopt legal and ethical means to make the business grow and
cu
do

maximize long term corporate value; For this, the directors should be
is
Th

only fiduciaries of the shareholders and not of the management so

that the non-executive directors speak in the interest of the
shareholders and discharge their fiduciary oversight functions which
can not be expected of a board composed of cronies of the
promoters. In fact, failure of many of the big corporation have much to

55
 do with the poor quality of the boards and lack of independent
oversight, inadequate disclosures and not raising right questions by
the auditors in particular as evident in the case of Satyam. This brings
us to the auditor-company relationship; to develop a healthy
relationship following practices are recommended.
1. The rotation of audit firms and careful scrutiny of auditing partners.
2. Restrictions on non-audit work such as management consultancy and
fees from such work.
3. The transparent procedure of appointment of auditors and
determination of the audit fees.
4. In-house measures to ensure that management and auditors actually
present the true and fair statement of financial affairs of the company
which could be a sub-committee of the board to oversee the audit
process and may also include certification by the CEO and CFO.

408

Even if aforesaid measures are taken, there will still be need for stronger
state role in overseeing the functioning of the corporates by strengthening the

)
om
inspection wing of the department of corporate affairs and coordination between

l.c
ai
SEBI and DCA and Registrar of companies. The Naresh Chandra Committee has gm
@

pointed out the need to tighten the definition of independence and the functions
ah
s

of the audit company, liabilities of the non- executive independent directors as a

al
aw

kind of departure from the laissez-faire view that government should allow the
h
(d
ah

corporates freedom and have a minimum role because the recent global
S
al

experience has compelled even advanced countries to introduce stricter

w
ha

government control of corporates. Perhaps a middle path of pragmatic

rD
fo

radicalism that is improving regulatory oversight without diminishing

ed

managerial initiative and risk taking is the answer to the present crisis. There is
is
al
on

thus a need for acceptable self-imposed restrictions on what constitutes business

rs
pe

and the minimum ethical criteria that the corporates doing such business should
s
ti

follow which means moving from the concept of ease of doing business to a
en
m

great extent to doing business with social accountability. It may be noted that
cu
do

this will by definition exclude business containing harmful components covering

is
Th

aspects like technologies, environmental impacts, public health, education etc.

by avoiding controversial business of dealing with mining and polluting
industries etc. and processed food of questionable ingredients and willingness to
submit to stringent socio-economic impact assessment of corporate business
activities. A movement for ethical business to treat wealth as the outcome of

56
social process that Gandhiji emphasized has to emerge from the society for
adoption of the ethical corporate practices and it has to be an international effort
that should include an effort to close the global tax havens that enabled
corporates evade taxes in their own country and to park their wealth outside the
countries of their operations which are basically detrimental to the national
interest.
From a global prospective US is seen as the power that sustains the
offshore tax heavens; the political elite and the corporates in other countries
simply make use of the facilities. Implicit in this practice is a partial rejection of
the idea of state sovereignty and national economy by the rich. It may be argued
with some force that a conflict between nationalism and globalization is apparent
because market forces have been allowed through WTO mechanisms to impose
restrictions on exercise of sovereign powers of the state e.g. recent US objection
to Indias move to give preference to Indian manufacturers of solar power
equipments under National Solar Mission programme. As democracy is founded
on the ideas of justice and concerns for welfare of the poor and all-round
progress of the citizens, the steady erosion of state sovereignty in economic
matters has caused a raging debate in advanced countries on the Regulatory
functions of the state.(The aspiring civil servant should note this development as it

)
relates to the critical agency functions of the civil servant.)

om
l.c
Notwithstanding the importance of the issues raised above, consideration
ai
gm
of ethics is not uppermost as profit making is justification for the existence of the
@
ah

corporates. The code of ethics for the private corporate sector is advisory and its
s
al
aw

social responsibility vague and unclear. For example, only the government and
h
(d

the trade unions in India question the reasoning behind a companys decision to
Sah

close a factory or to layoff or retrench workers but not those who stand by the
al
w

neo liberal social theory; the social impact of such decisions is borne by local
ha
rD

community and civil administration and not by the shareholders of the

fo
ed

concerned company. In large corporates, the retail shareholders usually play a

is
al

passive role and sickness of the company does not usually make the owners sick
on
rs

as the system allows them to move their capital elsewhere. The Naresh Chandra
pe
s

Committee report on corporate governance should be read to note that the matter
ti
en

is still at its nascent stage. It is necessary to introduce suitable norms of

m
cu

governance enforcing accountability not just to the shareholders but to the

do
is

society. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a move to this direction. The

Th

main ethical issues relevant to current situation are as follows:

Conflict between corporate and public interest as evident in a number
of instances as for example in Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric project
in Arunachal Pradesh raising a question about which of these two
interests should prevail and lack of transparency in the use of
57
 technology for making a product as a process or technology chosen by
the corporate for maximization of the profit may not be benign or
beneficial to the public and a conflict therefore is implicit as evident in
the Maggi Noodles controversy in the efforts of company to circumvent
the standards laid down by the government. There are similar ethical
problems involved in adoption of labor standards as per ILO norms
and outsourcing to keep the size of regular workforce low etc.
Need for the corporate to see social profit as a part of overall profits
and logically compensate social losses brought about by corporate
actions by making judicious use of CSR.
Creation of mechanism to prevent growth of predatory
capitalism/crony capitalism that thrives mainly on nexus at various
levels of the government of the country where a corporate operates
and even abroad.

409

The entry of private corporates in a big way in infrastructure development

and even in social sectors, including education under Public Private Partnership
(PPP) mode has thrown up complex issues as summarized below:-

)
om
Private capital tends to avoid areas of low profit potential usually in

l.c
o

ai
gm
less developed parts that results in accentuating regional disparities
@

and develops a vested interest in maintaining the status quo.

ah
s
al

o A transparent method of fixing user charges and the need for allowing
aw
h

easier and cheaper access to the common people as the latter as

(d
ah

taxpayers must have borne a public cost while the corporate might
S
al
w

have received a facility like subsidized land for starting their ventures
ha
rD

and hence duty-bound to share their profits with the public. (The
fo

recent case of denial of admission to some Dengue patients in private

ed
is

hospitals in Delhi is a case in point)

al
on
rs

o The projects under PPP mode have to be carefully drawn up to ensure

pe
s

that public interest and social gains are achieved and maintained
ti
en

proportionate to public contribution to the project direct or indirect.

m
cu
do
is

410
Th

III. Ethics in International Relations & Global Governance

If one takes a purely legalistic view, ethics in a limited sense in

International Relations is embodied in the UN Resolutions, multi-lateral

58
institutions, international conventions and agreements like the Law on seas or
Vienna program of actions for land locked countries and bilateral and multi-
lateral treaties. However, the structure of the UN system is built on global power
relationships and dominated by interests of the west as reflected in the
composition of G-9 and the UN Security Council. The rebalancing of the global
order beginning with the restructuring of the UNSC that G-4 nations have
recently demanded is still at its embryonic stage; However, as Kishore
Mahbubani pointed out in his seminal work The Great Convergence an ethical
basis of international relations is emerging now due to growing convergence of
national interests on matters like climate change, access to sea lanes, sharing of
intellectual properties for mutual benefit, common efforts to prevent spread of
communicable diseases etc. In some vital areas non-proliferation of nuclear
weapons and abolition of wars and armed interventions as means of solving
international disputes, assertion of the rights of the superpowers to force a
regime change in another country, the UN system appears to be a mute
spectator. This is unlikely to change unless the UNSC is made more
representative of the present distribution of global economic and political power.
Nevertheless, the slow but positive response of the European Union (EU) to the
current refugee crisis shows that there is some ethics in global affairs.

)
However these developments do not mean an emerging direction to ethics

om
l.c
based global order due to some fundamental features of the nation state which
ai
gm
have been influencing international relations so fundamentally that unless these
@
ah

are changed, even a move to a more rational and effective global system will be
s
al

difficult to commence. This point has been made by eminent French thinker
aw
h

Raymond Aron in his classic Peace and War as summarized below.

(d
S ah

While technology, globalization and universal diplomacy have

al
w

expanded relations among nations they have not changed the nature
ha
rD

of man or his collective forms of organizations namely nation states

fo
ed

which are territorially organized collectivities having two basic

is
al

attributes the right to take justice in its own hands and to be the
on
rs

sole arbiter of the decision to use force or attempt to use force in order
pe
s

to impose its will on another state; this implies that the state must
ti
en

have the resources, territory, collective will and capacity for military
m
cu

action and in this there is no ethics but only national interest.

do
is

Further, states remain sole judges of what their honor requires to

Th

preserve and protect their national interest often defined in terms of a

irreducible minimum.
Logically neighboring political collectivities being states themselves
and sharing the same attributes mentioned above pose potential
threats by their very existence; hence, politics meaning relations
59
 among nations are basically in the nature of confronting these
threats, which in turn defines a friend and an enemy. The threat and
prospects of war are thus always built in to the state policies on a
permanent basis. This is the theoretical basis of justification of
defense budget and defense preparedness because international
relations take place within a permanent and lengthening shadow of
war and explains unending arms race and mounting military
expenditure in the world.
States have not emerged from this Hobbesian state of nature where
life was nasty, solitary, brutish and short that Hobbes projected.
Therefore the relations among nations involve in essence the
alternatives of war and peace, and politics is all about trying for peace
with war always in the background. Thus to pretend that international
law and collective security will protect a state in the absence of
military power might invite disaster. The theory of international
relations therefore starts from the plurality of the autonomous centers
of the decisions and hence from the risk of war it deduces the
necessity of the calculation of the alternatives. Out of this experience
has emerged the need for a consultative mechanism put in place by
general consent to resolve disputes so as to avoid war, and to prolong

)
om
peaceful relations. This is the main task of what may be called

l.c
ai
dynamic diplomacy. gm
@

411
ah
s
al
aw

This broad framework of collective security is embodied in the United

h
(d
ah

Nation system and it holds good in some measure. To appreciate the dynamics of
S

international relations one must note some of the lessons of world developments
al
w
ha

since World War II which deeply influenced relations among nations as

rD

summarized below:
fo
ed
is

Geography is economic destiny. Geo-economic compulsions are

al
on

therefore the product of geo-politics and economics and contribute to

rs
pe

search for commonalities; the grouping of nations under ASEAN which

s
ti
en

has been transformed in to Asian Economic Community (AEC) in 2015

m
cu

is the outcome of this mature appreciation of geo- economic

do

compulsions.
is
Th

Geology meaning location of strategic minerals oil and gas in

particular determines the geo-political importance and prospects of
wealth of nations. This extends to strategic location as
conduit/surface routes for transport of oil and gas through pipelines
across nations and also sea lanes, off-shore exploration rights of oil

60
 and gas. The Syrian crisis is mainly explained by the fact of Syrias
location in a crucial area through which oil and gas pipelines
proposed for transport of Central Asian energy resources to Europe
are likely to be built.
Demography is the political destiny and geo-demography shape
politics.
Science, technology and innovation eco-system of a nation its
knowledge and education system determines its economic capability
and power and attainment of the same is the core of the development
strategy of an aspiring nation or a region.
Non-discriminatory public investment in education, health, shelter,
electricity and female education to raise the human capability is the
foundation of a knowledge economy, building social capital and
democracy that considers development as freedom.
Successful diplomacy is generally more about managing problems
than solving them outright; in diplomatic parlance this is called
constructive engagement. The following statement of Henry Kissinger
succinctly sums up the current approach to international relations in
which there is little ethics:
The task of a statesman is to construct a balance of fear among great

)
om
powers as part of the maintenance of an orderly institutional system that which

l.c
ai
not necessarily just or fair was accepted by the principal players as legitimate*.
gm
@

Attainment of its strategic goals by any nation, however strong

ah
s
al

depends on convergence of its goals with those of other powers and

aw
h

not on its own powers as for example convergence of Indian and Soviet
(d
ah

strategic goals enabled India to win its war with Pakistan in 1971 and
S
al

Bangladesh, her freedom from Pakistan. The short term convergence

w
ha

of strategic interests of Russia, US and France (especially after 13/11

rD
fo

Paris carnage) in combating ISIS in Syria may be seen as evidence in

ed
is

support of this point.

al
on
rs
pe

411
s
ti
en
m

The theory of international relations therefore starts from the plurality of

cu
do

the autonomous centers of power and hence from the risk of war and from this
is
Th

risk it deduces the necessity of the calculation of the means. Since conflict of
interests are but natural in relations among nations suitable consultative
mechanisms have to be put in place by consensus to resolve international
disputes within an evolving framework of international law. The challenge is

* Dr. Henry Kissinger is considered by many as The personification of Real Politik

61
continuing and is the main task of dynamic diplomacy. This statement is a
confirmation of the unresolved issue of ethics in international relations and the
dilemma that the statesmen face when confronted with the issues of war and
peace. It is thus useful to understand the concepts of power, strategy and war.
To begin with Clausewitzs famous formulae war is a continuation of policy by
other means is a simple observation of fact because war is not merely a political
act but also a real political instrument. The subordination of war to policy as a
means to an end establishes and justifies the distinction of absolute war and real
wars and the possibility that violence escapes the control of the chief of the
states. As the threat or actual use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) can
not have any ethical justification, there is a real danger of violence outstripping
policy goals and making them irrelevant. This fear of mutually assured
destruction (MAD) looms large in the horizon and produced what is called
balance of terror among the nuclear armed nations, which has prompted efforts
to regulate proliferation of nuclear weapons and a controlled regime like the
Nuclear Suppliers Group. Recent developments suggest that there is some
strength in these groups efforts; however in reality bilateral efforts seemed to be
more effective in preventing war as seemed during the Kargil conflict. The
firefighting role of the United Nations and the global community still far short of
the institutional requirements to effectively subordinate the nation states power

)
om
to wage war to the international law and governance of relations among nations

l.c
in an orderly manner within the framework of the international law.
ai
gm
@

Notwithstanding these basic constraints, the continuing efforts in the WTO

ah
s

DOHA round of talks while still inconclusive and stuck with issues like
al
aw

agricultural subsidies in developed nations and intellectual property rights, there

h
(d

are hopeful signs of regional collaboration which could introduce some ethical
Sah

norms based on mutual interest in trade and investment which may lead to
al
w
ha

relaxation of restrictions on movement of labor and skills and thereby promote a

rD

network of commonalities and expanding constituencies for peace. This

fo
ed

argument holds good even for Indo-Pak economic relations despite the ongoing
is
al

arms race.
on
rs
pe

We may therefore conclude that the very limited adoption of ethics in

s
ti

international relations is the outcome of the basic contradiction between the

en
m

concept of nation state based on hard power and perceived national interest
cu
do

which often means aggrandizement that Tagore argued, stand in the way of a just
is
Th

humane world order in his essay Crisis of Civilizations is yet to be resolved.

Since ethics play little role in relations between two nations, both driven as it
were by national interest, a wider configuration of nations, like the ASEAN, is a
positive step to move away from narrow nationalism to regional identity and
interests founded on enlightened national interest and hence, discernible ethics
possibly the first step of a long march to a just and ethical global order.
62
Reference:

1. John Rawls The Theory of Justice

2. P C Ray India Before & After the Mutiny (Publications Division 601. 1994)
3. C. Northcote Parkinson Inlaws & Outlaws
4. The Report on Corporate Governance (Naresh Chandra Committee) Ministry of
Corporate Affairs
5. Kishore Mahbubani The Great Convergence: Asia, the West, and the Logic of One
World; Can Asians think?
6. Raymond Aron Peace and War
7. Clausewitz On War and Strategy
8. Tagore The Crisis of Civilization
9. Nial Fergusson The Ascent of Money

)
om
l.c
ai
gm
@
ah
s
al
aw
h
(d
S ah
al
w
ha
rD
fo
ed
is
al
on
rs
pe
s
ti
en
m
cu
do
is
Th

63
 CHAPTER FIVE

Convergence of Public Service and Corporate Values -

an unresolved dilemma of the nation state in the 21st
century
_________________________________________________________________

Preamble

500

This is a subject of a continuing debate in South-East Asia since the

currency crisis of 1997 and not in India as yet because we have not faced a crisis
of such magnitude; hence for this topic I have banked on ASEAN sources and its
relevance is that understanding of this unresolved issue might help you to
answer questions in UPSC exam. For this, it is essential to contextualize the

)
om
subject; institutional values are founded on philosophy which is the outcome of

l.c
ai
the history the record of human experience and the thought process based gm
thereon. On this, Russells comment as quoted below is significant:
@
ah
s

Thinking is not one of the natural activities of man; it is a product of disease

al
aw

like a high temperature in illness. In France before the Revolution and in England
h
(d
ah

in the early 19th century, the disease in the body politic caused certain people to
S
al

think important thoughts which developed into the science of political economy.
w
ha

(Bertrand Russell Legitimacy vs. Industrialism 1814-1848 Chapter 8, Section

rD
fo

B)
ed
is

One hoped that the global financial crisis of 2007-8 and the Great
al
on

Recession, that has been afflicting the global economy since then and caused by
rs
pe

greed individual and institutional that led to the collapse of financial

s
ti
en

behemoths like Lehman Brothers in US would lead to a serious thinking on the

m
cu

need to put in place laws and institutions to establish such convergence. The fact
do

that this has not taken place in good measure shows that failure of the modern
is
Th

state and economy based on markets to appreciate the fact that gross divergence
of values of these two inseparable subsystems would turn both polity and
economy in a state of chronic instability. The purpose of this talk is to examine
these issues in order to draw a possible line of convergence.

64
501

Parallel growth of nation state and corporates in history

The growth of modern civil service integral to the nation state delivering
public service and joint stock companies took place concurrently during the 18th
and 19th century in Europe in the wake of the French and the Industrial
revolutions. In Western Europe and US, the state evolved as a democracy while
in the Central and Eastern Europe it acquired a strong authoritarian character
though objects of the state were the same. In the Post-World War II period
democracy spread to most newly independent nations in Asia and Africa with
varying success. (As of now out of 192 countries of the UN system, 121 (63%)
states have adopted electoral democracy.)
Industrialism and Corporates as its main vehicle saw rapid spread in this
period that led to globalization which is a polite way of stating that
corporatization and financialization of the world economy encompassing
national economies is the real engine of global economy. Essentially founded on
laisez faire and Adam Smiths philosophy, the corporates emerged as the
dominant form of enterprise for exploration of mines and other natural
resources, commercialization of new innovations and to promote science and

)
om
technology based innovations in a strong economy which explains the major

l.c
ai
gm
corporate share/role in R&D in all developed countries such as Japan and South
@

Korea in Asia.* In fact, the first industrial revolution based on steam power, the
ah
s
al

second on electricity and factory system of mass production on assembly line

aw

and the third that began in 1969-70 on IT, electronics and communication
h
(d
ah

system were all propelled by the corporates due to their capacity to convert
S
al

innovations into products through organised industry for markets. This

w
ha

phenomenon of corporate led growth seems to be a redeeming feature of a

rD
fo

modern economy and is set to lead the world to the fourth industrial revolution
ed
is

that Klaus Schwab envisioned during 2015 Davos Meet of the World Economic
al
on

Forum to be built on robotics, and artificial intelligence based new industrial

rs
pe

growth. (In this background one must note the role of the Bretton Woods
s
ti

Institutions created after the World War II the IMF, the World Bank and the
en
m

International Finance Corporation which provided huge financial and institutional

cu
do

support to corporate led growth.)

is
Th

502

One must also remember the long stand-off between the Soviet/Socialist
model of USSR and PRC (The Peoples Republic of China) and the capitalist world
that ended in 1979-80 when China began its quick march to capitalism with
65
the reforms of Deng Xiaoping and Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979
which eventually created a crisis of Soviet Economy and caused its
dismemberment. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990 symbolized the collapse of
the socialist economies in Europe which led Francis Fukiama to pen down his
famous The End of History thesis in which Fukiama theorized that mankinds
search for a political and economic system is over because democracy and
market economy together alone can provide a permanent answer to governance.
Fukiama it appears ignored the fundamental divergence in the organizational
values of democracy and corporate led economy and the inadequacy of the
market place and the representative government to bring about the convergence
which his theory that there is no better institution than the markets to settle all
human needs of exchange should otherwise suggest. This dichotomy is not
captured if these two systems are studied in isolation; hence the need to apply
the approach developed at Para Lines Institute in the US called Complexity
Studies (www.paralines.ntu.edu.sg). The idea that we can not see the world from
partial analysis but must take into consideration the interconnected complex as
a whole which was developed by scientists who participated in the Los Alamos
Nuclear Programme. From this prospective it would appear that in the pre and
post 1990 periods, what has gone largely unnoticed is that there has been a
steady dilution of state sovereignty as the state itself became dependent on the

)
om
corporates as the drivers of the economies and the major source of revenue; the

l.c
ai
state came to rely on the corporate super structure as the economy graduallygm
@

acquired an organized character. In this environment development is perceived

ah
s

as urban technology innovation and market led: and future growth

al
aw

sustainable only with continuing innovation and reform. This in practice has
h
(d
ah

come to suggest a long term commitment to ease of doing business for the
S
al

corporates particularly those backed up by FDI through a wide ranging package

w
ha

of incentives like SEZ special economic zone, tax incentives and tax holidays,
rD
fo

labor law reforms, suitable bankruptcy and exit laws, easy repatriation of profits,
ed

less stricter norms for environmental and other clearances, and provisions for
is
al
on

facilities such as easy availability of power connection and regular supply, import
rs
pe

of capital goods etc. These incentives are clearly discriminatory but justified on
s
ti

the ground that the corporates would generate wealth and employment; they
en
m

would thus add to the GDP growth and state revenues. In fact, SEZ Act states
cu
do

that a SEZ will be such as though it is not part of the country as normal state
is
Th

laws like the labor laws that put restrictions on employers control over
conditions of work will not apply in a SEZ. It follows therefore that when a
country adopts such a growth strategy, the organizational values of the corporate
as well as Civil Service will necessarily change; the former adopting as a policy an
aggressive growth strategy with focus on quick return by optimum use of capital
and technology while the Civil Service is called upon to act as the facilitators as
66
its role as the industry regulator is required to be played on a low key. Indeed,
pro-market political leaders with industry connections even advocate
privatization of the public services precisely to reduce the agency functions of
the civil service as provided under the company laws and rules relating to
corporate governance.
To summarize, it suggests least interference by the state in internal
corporate governance a sort of free run for those who control majority shares
relegating thereby retail and small investors to voiceless stakeholders and
negating thus the internal democratic governance that provided the ethics and
legitimacy of the concept of joint-stock companies in first place. Its inherent
strengths easy capital mobilization, limited liability, diffusion of the risk,
flexibility in the use of share capital to attract loan, performance based public
listing in stock exchange for easy trading of shares which thus become
commodities etc. that facilitated mobility of capital across the nations have been
unable to prevent subversion of its management by its owners. This led to a
separation of management and the ownership of capital and contributed to
corporate misgovernance.

503

)
om
These concerns now expressed in India and in South-East Asia since 1997

l.c
ai
gm
are however country specific; in post-1991 period the corporates in Asia gained
@

access to foreign credit available at a much lower rate of interest than what was
ah
s
al

prevalent in the domestic market though currency fluctuations always remained

aw

a major risk factor which prompted many corporates to over borrowing. In this
h
(d
ah

connection the Indonesian experience of corporate governance is relevant

S
al

because as in India, corporates in Indonesia are largely family owned. There is

w
ha

one difference however in India a critical study of corporate governance has

rD
fo

only begun recently (from 2000 onwards) despite the fact that corporate
ed
is

misgovernance has never been uncommon as for example the LIC Mundhra
al
on

Scandal in the 1950s, the cases of Satyam, Sahara Group, and now the NPAs of
rs
pe

Public Sector Banks. The added advantage of looking at the Indonesian corporate
s
ti

sector is that it was reviewed by the World Bank (Y. Shimmura The role of
en
m

Governance in Asia Chapter 4 ASEAN Foundation 2003 by Yuri Sato) after

cu
do

the Asian currency crisis in 1997 and its findings are relevant for understanding
is
Th

issues of corporate governance and offer valuable insights which are summarized
below:
Poor governance was caused by shielding the banker and the company
from market discipline as the corporates displayed following features
in their functions which impinged on their governance, namely, a high

67
 leverage of concentrated ownership and a high level ultimate control
exercised by a few families resulting in expropriation of minority
shareholders.

The World Bank suggested following reforms:

Appointment of independent directors and strengthening of internal

auditing to restrain excessive mopping up of compensation for owner
managers reducing thereby the profits after tax for distribution
among the shareholders.
Setting up of the Committees to fix remuneration of executives and
protection of the rights of minority shareholders through construction
of an analytical framework of corporate governance as the separation
of ownership and management did not really exist and hence the
conventional agency problem associated with corporate governance
arising out of dispersal of ownership and management. The world
bank therefore suggested that legal and financial protection of
shareholders should begin with assessing the practical possibility of
such a separation by moving towards a broader concept of
stakeholder society covering externalities customers, suppliers and

)
om
communities where the corporate is located over and above the

l.c
ai
gm
shareholders. From this stakeholder society perspective, the bank
@

held that corporate governance is the design of institutions that

ah
s
al

induce or force management to internalize the welfare of stakeholders

aw

meaning all those whose interests are involved in good governance of

h
(d
ah

the enterprise. (This is the basis of corporate social responsibility

S
al

which is now a part of the corporate law and a duty for the corporates
w
ha

to the society)
rD
fo

Corporate governance is viewed by experts like Aoki Masahiko (ibid

ed

is

page 3) as self-enforcing mechanisms that governed such strategic

al
on

interaction among the players a set of self-enforceable rules (formal

rs
pe

and informal) that regulate contingent action choices of the

s
ti
en

stakeholders in the organization domain including investors,

m
cu

managers and workers; the crucial issue is management of debt and

do

since the ideal of dispersed ownership is not prevalent at present

is
Th

except in US & UK and concentrated family ownership is a norm in

Asia and therefore insider control being the real position, the world
bank argued that there was need for legal protection of the rights of all
investors and financiers for ensuring shareholders values. (In the
Indian context this will refer to banks because of state ownership and

68
 banks therefore have to consider shareholder value perspective while
dealing with corporate loans in every stage.)

504

In actual practice the functioning of corporates in Indonesia is

characterized by some features which bear striking resemblance to the Indian
corporate scene as summarized below:
HILO firms (High Level of family ownership and Low Level of board
representation) show interestingly highest performance, followed by
HIHI (High ownership and High board representation) and LOLO (Low
family ownership and Low board membership) and LOHI (Low family
ownership and high level of board representation); LOHI had thus the
lowest level of performance. A 2001 Taiwan study confirmed this
position which concluded that HILO firms had lower agency problems,
meaning divergence between the interests of shareholders and
management because the owner families enjoyed higher cash flow
rights always. The experience in Thailand suggests that HIHI type of
management does not always result in poor governance. From this it
may be concluded that family ownership is not intrinsically wrong and

)
om
what matters is innovation which is the key to corporate reform.

l.c
ai
gm
During 1997 Asian Currency Crisis the key role of the creditors
@
ah

domestic and foreign and high incidence of insolvency put the focus
s
al

on over borrowing as its major cause because over borrowing raised

aw
h

the agency cost; initially the owner-manager led firm did economize
(d
ah

the transaction cost but later as the business expanded they took
S
al
w

large external loans raising further the agency cost. In Thailand, State
ha
rD

owned banks provided the loans while in Indonesia it was the foreign
fo

banks and therefore the crisis in Indonesia deepened with currency

ed
is

fluctuations affecting all important stakeholders outside. Over-

al
on

borrowing was seen as a case of corporate failure though in theory

rs
pe

debts provide discipline to owner-managers as debt repayment

s
ti
en

decreases free cash flows as it is the first charge on the companys

m
cu

cash flows.
do
is

The creditors did face several problems; the first of these is an

Th

asymmetry of information because the owner manager knew the truth

and could withhold crucial information from the creditors; this is more
serious in case of large business groups and hence governance by
creditors failed to work without a threat of liquidation. The need for an
efficient bankruptcy law is therefore crucial as in such a scenario a
69
 collusion hypothesis and crony capitalism become apparent. The
problem becomes more complex as the creditors - if they happen to be
state owned banks often expect the government to absorb a risk of
bad, meaning, irrecoverable debts. The following alternative situations
were noticed during the crisis
1. High profitability and high debt dependency
2. Low profitability and high debt dependency
3. Low profitability and low debt dependency. (The last type of firms
performed least and got out of the market eventually)
Difference in fund raising behavior of rapid growth firms; this
depended primarily on the source of credit, that is, those who
borrowed from nationalized banks and from foreign banks. Typically,
the former suffered because of high rate of interest which was then
ruling at 18% in Indonesia while the latter could absorb a low 4% of
interest usually charged by foreign banks even with currency
depreciation. Thus firms which borrowed from foreign source suffered
less.

505

)
om
l.c
ai
We will now examine three hypotheses usually put forward by the believers
gm
@

in self-correcting mechanism of the markets. The first of these is the

ah
s

creditors/bankers especially foreign banks higher ability to investigate and

al
aw

monitor the corporates; second is the positive effect of public listing of shares
h
(d
ah

and the third is the positive role and functions of professional managers based
S
al

on the assumption that their stronger presence is expected to act as a check on

w
ha

owner managers. In this regard one must bear in mind the phenomenon of
rD
fo

corporatism in a democracy, meaning, the influence of large business houses

ed

in government economic policy making.

is
al
on

The Asian experience suggests following answers to the issues mentioned

rs
pe

above.
s
ti
en

Concentrated ownership is not an impediment by itself provided there

m
cu

is no other key stake holder, no collusion with the government and no

do
is

major external financier either.

Th

Information asymmetry allowed owner-managers to pursue over

borrowing unchecked.
Collusion with government as a possible cause of corporate
governance failure precipitated by large loans from state owned banks

70
 and often secured on weak diligence; further public listing exposure to
market does not put a break on the behavior of owner managers; and
the effect of public listing of shares was negative because the group
ensured that only good lines of business were listed and over-
borrowing continued because the key holding companies were not
listed a clear case of manipulation.
Foreign creditors monitoring as factor of good governance proved
invalid because the creditors too make misjudgments.
Professional managers capacity to act as a check on owner-managers
has been found to be invalid their role being severely limited,
because the controlling power is with the ultimate decision maker.
Strengthening of the monitoring functions of the capital market is
critical and hence the roles of regulatory institutions (as SEBI or RBI
in India).
Need to establish institutions which can impose a threat of exit from
the market on business groups whose owner-managers do not obey
market rules and hence a potential threat of liquidation is necessary
to ensure efficacy of governance by creditors when owner-managers do
not cooperate.

)
om
l.c
Public listing of state owned banks as in India and public debate on
ai

gm
institutional finance are important factors including the role of media.
@
ah

The need for a mechanism to control a collusion between state power

s

al
aw

and business which suggests a dynamic role for institutional

h
(d

watchdogs or designated bodies duly empowered to monitor/prevent

S ah

possible triangular alliances between business groups, domestic

al
w
ha

creditors and the government. Creation of independent state

rD

regulators for supervising banks with an appropriate accounting

fo
ed

mechanisms is therefore imperative for enforcing good governance and

is
al

avoidance of collusion/cronyism.
on
rs
pe
s

506
ti
en
m
cu

Since the work environment of the corporates is thus vastly different from
do
is

that of Civil Service, a question may arise Is convergence of values even

Th

conceptually possible? If not, how would Civil Servants deal with corporates?
These are matters to be addressed because a Civil Servant could be a part of the
watchdog institutions and might as well have worked as facilitator for
promoting industrial growth. For appreciation, a few possible situations are
examined below:
71
 When a Civil Servant is posted in a PSU, discharging in a way agency
functions the relevant values are to preserve and enrich stakeholder
society interests as defined earlier while seeking to enhance
shareholder value which in this case is the government meaning the
people a perfect convergence of corporate and civil service values
therefore exists which is added by CSR concept. (Note that
professional managers in a PSU should also have the same value
systems and hence the need for regular training)
While discharging agency functions under laws like the Industrial
Disputes Act or the Factories Act, the Civil Servants core values
objectivity, fairness and justice demand impartiality in decisions
keeping in view also the need to promote higher productivity,
improved work culture which will impact on shareholder value.
Efficiency is a common value though parameters are different in the
corporates where the managers in a owner managed firms are in a
weaker positions as they have to subscribe to objects and methods of
the strong as they do not enjoy any power to prevail except by reason
and persuasion. In a situation of limited choice, the definitions of
honesty and integrity for them are conditioned by subjective

)
om
situations. Moreover, sops/incentives like bonus, stock options

l.c
restrict scope for independent decision and thus managers tend to fall
ai
gm
in line and a whistle blower does not appear among them; and more
@
ah

so as the society does not associate or even expect such a role. This
s
al
aw

creates an environment for the managers conducive to a preference for

h
(d

a conventional and compliant role primarily due to lack of job

S ah

security. This is a point of clear divergence from public service values

al
w

suggesting that self-regulation, though important, may be found

ha
rD

missing in corporate functioning.

fo
ed

A Civil Servant as a regulator is to be guided by the idea of justice as it

is
al
on

is an agency function (in India SEBI, Enforcement Directorate of

rs
pe

Government of India and SFIO of the department of the corporate

s
ti

affairs are discharging such watchdog functions preventive,

en
m

investigative and prosecuting functions).

cu
do
is

507
Th

Is corporate governance moving towards a regime of greater

accountability to the society and its shareholders? is a question that must
be addressed now. For this it may be noted that the third IT based industrial
revolution saw great changes in modes of value creation, and instruments for
72
making money such as derivatives, hedge funds, future trade, mutual fund,
pension funds, foreign institutional investors etc. and the ease with which Shell
companies could be opened in global Tax Havens. All these institutions have
brought about a sea change in shareholding pattern in listed companies all over
the world as funds could be put in or withdrawn in a minute which made
speculative investment the motive force of stock market; offshore Tax Havens
such as the British Virgin Islands have a huge role, enabled in no small measure
by the corporate practice of transfer pricing, and misuse of DTAT (Direct Tax
Avoidance Treaty) etc.
Indeed, human ingenuity knows no limits in money matters. Hedge funds
business model is short selling of stocks and it thrives on insider information
and trading which are criminal offences under most country laws as in US to
produce unbelievable returns which are unrelated to stock market signals and
indices. The recent fall of Xu Xiang, Hedge Fund king in China, (as reported in
the New York Times, Asian edition, dated 2-3 April, 2016 Weekend Issue) gives
a sordid account of stock manipulations by Hedge Funds all over the world
(Andrew Shengs Statesman articles (Casting lights from the shadows dated 2-
4-2016 and Get set for some Qonzi Schemes dated 06.03.2016). The
investment banks, FIIs and its P-notes are mechanisms that have produced a

)
new class of shareholders whose interests in the companies they have invested

om
l.c
are very short term. This has produced following consequences:
ai
gm
In firms owned by a few large promoters usually from the same
@
ah

family, the management becomes all powerful as it emerged from the

s
al
aw

owners, which is a departure from the original concept of shareholders

h
(d

being the principal and the management its agent. The entry of
S ah

mutual funds further marginalizes the small shareholders as fund

al
w

managers of the MF become important even though they have a very

ha
rD

short term horizon. The owner shareholders have to fall in line with
fo
ed

the large fund managers to protect the listed share values, which in
is
al

turn creates conditions favorable to insider trading and emergence of

on
rs

aggressive fund managers. (The recent cases of Rajat Gupta and

pe
s

Rajaratnam in US and Harshad Mehta in India in 1990s)

ti
en
m

Those who buy units of mutual fund would not know where their
cu
do

money was actually invested or how fund managers were managing

is
Th

their money as they would be only interested in returns or rise in NAV;

the invested company knew no shareholder but only the Fund. Thus it
is first anonymity and then disappearance of retail shareholders is
ensured, an example of which is the acquisition of stocks by FIIs
under P-notes a practice which totally changed the shareholding

73
 structures of corporations. Even then long term investors like Pension
Funds or Provident Funds could help towards growth of a vibrant
state of shareholder activism but this has been only in theory because
of primary interest of such funds is in returns and not translated into
active role in functioning of corporates. This also applies to the
creditors and financiers who could have promoted better corporate
governance which is still to be seen (The Kingfisher case).
508
We may recall that the high level committee (HLC) appointed by Govt. of
India under chairmanship of Shri Naresh Chandra examined these issues and
made important recommendations for streamlining corporate governance
(some of which have been already discussed in the previous chapter).
Subsequently in 2009, CII appointed a task force, also under Shri Naresh
Chandra which also made 25 recommendations for voluntary adoption of good
governance norms. Some of these are listed below (The Report of CII Task force
on Corporate Governance 2009):
Stricter norms for appointments of non-executive directors through a
nomination committee and fixation of a reasonable compensation

)
om
structure.

l.c
ai
Appointment of an independent audit committee for examining the gm
@

accounts with total impartiality.

ah
s
al

The need to separate the post of Chairman and the Chief Executive.
aw

h
(d

For promoting appropriate auditor-company relationship rotation of

ah

audit partners should be the norm to avoid creation of vested

al
w
ha

interests.
rD
fo

Need for a policy on whistle blower including safeguards as it has not

ed
is

been encouraged so far but need to be promoted as a part of good

al
on

governance strategy.
rs
pe
s

Appropriate risk management framework is necessary, keeping in view

ti
en

the fact that inadequate evaluation of the credit derivatives was a

m
cu

main cause for 2008 meltdown of the global economy.

do
is
Th

Need for an empowered audit oversight mechanism as in US at the

national level.
Media to be viewed by the corporates as a stakeholder with
encouragement of business reporting and financial analysis in the
public domain.
74
509

This narrative will remain abstract largely unless related to major types of
capitalism under which the corporates operate. Pranab Bardhan, a distinguished
economist identified following three dominant forms of capitalism with distinct
features and professional values. (PranabBardhan Lecture delivered at the
Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi on 30-03-2016)
1. Entrepreneurial Capitalism that is a company started by
entrepreneurs who picked up an innovation or an idea/need and
commercialized it through a company; Indian firms like Hero Cycles,
Nirma and Ghadi washing powder and Hindustan Liver are examples
of this type. Their common traits are concern for market share,
efficiency and profitability which make them support pro-market
democracy and demand level playing field in tax matters.
2. Rentier Capitalism, Bardhan argued, is built on the nexus between
the company and the state power as it is centered on what he called,
politically allotted scarce resources and thriving on raising value and
drawing on monopoly rights. It follows from this that dominance of
Rentier Capitalism in country leads to weakening and even subversion

)
om
of the democratic states as it promotes such cronyism in other

l.c
enterprises obstructing invariably the proper and lawful discharge of
ai
gm
agency functions of the civil service (2G and Coal scams etc.) and
@
ah

promotes growth of an extractive state as defined by Acemoghu &

s
al
aw

Robinson in Why Nations Fail?

h
(d

3. State capitalism for production of public goods as for example, power

S ah

generation, PSUs like NTPC, NHPC, DVC and utilities like DJB (Delhi
al
w
ha

Jal Board).
rD
fo

While corporate law equally applies to all companies in these three

ed
is

types of capitalism and matters like accounts keeping corporate

al
on

governance structure and business operations might show

rs
pe

similarities,their value systems and ethics in management vary widely

s
ti

from one type to another. Here is an important difference as for an

en
m

example unlike civil service values which are uniform in all situations
cu
do

knowledge of rules, regulations as efficiency criteria and capacity to

is
Th

act in a fair and just manner in all cases, it will be different in all
three types of capitalism. As regards outcome civil service position is
clear in terms of justice which is to be not only delivered but seen to
have been delivered and assessed in terms of time taken to deliver
and appropriateness of the procedures followed as determinants of the

75
 quality of the service to the citizens; what is more, there is an
overriding consideration to see if as a result, the society in general is
moving towards what Amartya Sen called human capability
enhancement (Sen The Idea of Justice). This is in sharp contrast
with the value systems and efficiency criteria of first two types of
capitalism because profit maximization would be the main concern for
both though in case of the first type profit motive may at times be
moderated by market force and consumer choice. In case of a third
type theres however ample scope for convergence of values because of
public ownership of the enterprise even though there are occasions for
conflict of interest between the users the general public and the
PSUs search for profitability. On the whole it may be concluded that
the convergence of two value systems is not possible because every
corporate falls in any of the three types mentioned above.

510

In this environment what a company executive should do when faced

with a decision that tests his/her ethics and value system? The answer is
go by your conscience and character as defined by Vivekananda and your

)
om
own sense of accountability of Karma, the consequences of which are

l.c
ai
inescapable based on your personal values and ethics and if the decision involves
gm
@

public interest one must go by the object of public good and reject options
ah

designed to enhance only corporate profits at the cost of the public or harm to
s
al
aw

public good, public health or public institutions. This is in tune with the
h
(d

emerging concept of the CSR in the sense that CSR does not always mean
S ah

funding some social welfare projects often through NGOs and from profits
al
w
ha

earned sometimes in a dubious manner in the first place; CSR really suggests a
rD

socially acceptable mode of business based on some ethics which provide moral
fo
ed

backup to its executives to avoid doing something palpably wrong and unethical
is
al

for the sole purpose of profit making. This problem will remain visible in any of
on
rs

the types of capitalism in some measure. If the state does not maintain a balance
pe
s
ti

between these three types of capitalism and allows the second to dominate then
en
m

democracy retreats and there is a probability of the state getting hijacked as it

cu
do

happened in some Latin American countries; the first type gets weakened due to
is

free trade and outsourcing while the state capitalism loses its importance due to
Th

free trade in services and privatization and hence unable to serve as the
balancing factor in the economy.
In such a situation there is need for strict competition law to restrain the
second type and also to some extent the third to preserve the first type which

76
includes micro-enterprises, retail trade and services because together they
provide employment for the vast majority of the population. The marginalization
of the extended definition of entrepreneurial capitalism weakens the base of a
developmental state. It is thus a Hobsons choice for such a state, meaning,
theres only one choice but to maintain a balance between the three types of
capitalism just as an executive in a corporate confronted with a choice between
public good and private profit has no moral alternative but to support the cause
of public good or accept it as the criteria in taking decisions.
From this it follows that convergence of public service and corporate value
system does not seem to be practical in full measure because every corporate
would fall in any of the three types of capitalist enterprises that Professor
Bardhan mentioned. However, the value system of a PSU (Public Sector
Undertaking) or a government undertaking like the Indian Railways might come
close to a convergence; a possible exception could be a corporate engaged in
delivering a public service such as a telecom company or a multi-specialty
hospital that might have received some support for the state either in the form of
land or some subsidy because such an enterprise will have to care for optimum
customer satisfaction mainly to remain competitive in the market and therefore a
certain degree of public accountability is built into its functioning. Nevertheless,

)
the issue of basic divergence between the two systems remains and gets

om
l.c
compounded when Civil Service play a regulatory role that legally supersedes its
ai
gm
other functions as facilitators of trade and industries.
@
ah

While the aforesaid position is adequate for answering questions in the

s
al
aw

UPSC examination, the ground reality is more complex. Before World War II, the
h
(d

adage what is good for General Motors is good for the United States was a
S ah

valid expression of state corporate relations in US democracy at that time and a

al
w

perfect case of convergence of state and corporate values. Things have changed
ha
rD

since then as Detroit is now a ghost town while with the support of the US state
fo
ed

policy; US multinational corporations enjoy the privilege of shifting factories

is
al

outside US for cost saving and higher profits and the easy facility of parking
on
rs

corporate profits in offshore Tax Havens. In recent times this practice which is
pe
s

legal, has created a narrowly based power structure in US that while furthering
ti
en

super profits of corporates from their overseas investments in China or

m
cu

Bangalore for instance, restricts opportunities for common US citizens to obtain

do
is

middle class status progressively.* We must note that this prospect of climbing
Th

up the socio-economic ladder through education and skills and by hard work
and entrepreneurial ability has been the main reason or rationale for the
American societys high tolerance level of inequality; but not anymore as evident
from Berni Sanders arguments highlighting this point during the ongoing US
Presidential Election debate suggests. Since the prospects of advancing seem
77
remote presently, the vast majority of people in US have started questioning the
legitimacy of the wealth acquired by the super-rich and the rich largely due to
very low taxation and facilities for expatriation of profits and setting up of
factories outside the USA causing thereby fleeing of capital and jobs while the
corporate profits continue to soar which have been detrimental to their basic
interests. Sooner or later every advanced capitalist country has to face this
dichotomy between the objects of corporate led economy and the common
citizens idea of progress, albeit with acceptable level of inequality. This was not
foreseen by Francis Fukiama and neo-conservatives like Mrs. Hillary Clinton.
From a global perspective US led western block are indeed the power house that
sustains the offshore tax havens; the political elite and the corporate in other
countries only make use of the facilities. Implicit in this practice is thus the
partial rejection of the ideas of the state sovereignty and the national economy by
the rich. It may be argued with some force that a conflict between nationalism
and globalization is a reality because market forces have been allowed through
WTO mechanisms to cause restrictions on exercise of sovereign powers by States
e.g. recent US objections to Government of Indias move to give preference to
Indian manufactures of Solar Power generation equipments under a wholly state
funded programme. As democracy is founded on the ideas of justice and all
round progress of citizens, the steady erosion of state authority in economic

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matters has caused raging debates in advanced countries on the regulatory

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ai
functions of the State. The aspiring civil servants should note these gm
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developments as these would impinge on the agency functions of the civil

ah
s

servants in a democracy where the Parliament is the Principal.

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aw
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(d
ah

511
S
al
w
ha

In this background, the Singapore model of developmental state and its

rD

institution of elite bureaucrats deserve study as Singapore successfully placed

fo
ed

the latter, entirely merit based to promote capital market and enterprises owned
is
al

and managed by private capital and state and yet maintained its core values and
on
rs

key role in governance with efficiency and integrity. (Ref. Y Shimomura The role
pe
s

of governance in Asia Chapter 10). Briefly stated, Singapore under Lee Kuan
ti
en

Yew created what might be called oversight and governance structures like the
m
cu

Economic Development Boards and government corporations which were

do
is

manned by the bureaucrats who also held concurrently posts of Permanent

Th

Secretaries to the governments. The designation Permanent Secretary is of

British origin and the Post carries the same rank and responsibility as that of a
Secretary to the government of India. This is called the Trinity System meaning
that a civil servant wears three hats - as the Secretary, the head of a regulatory
authority and also an undertaking in which state holds the majority shares. This

78
has enabled emergence of a common set of values each strengthening the other
in all key areas of governance. This has worked well in Singapore because of its
character as a city state with a relatively small population, its strategic location
as the entrepot to the peninsula, multiethnic composition, and a common
approach to attract investment, skill development and emphasis on meritocracy
and broad based social welfare program; that Singapore could not possibly have
Rentier Capitalism helped significantly in building up the trinity system.
On an overall perspective such convergence of institutional values of Public
Service and corporates as Singapore achieved may not be entirely feasible in
other country situations nor a phenomenon of rising corporates and diminishing
state that the neo-liberals would prefer that is a paradigm shift of the role of the
state is ever to take place. Ironically there is a further contradiction in the neo-
liberal stance because in theory neo-liberalism has to support what world bank
called technocratic insulation of the bureaucracy considered an imperative for
proper market led growth even when there is strong evidence of links between
the bureaucrats and the ruling party in Singapore for decades. This suggests
perhaps that if there is a conscious realization within the political class that
technocratic insulation political neutrality and avoidance of cronyism are
imperatives for real economic and social development there could be a scenario
of convergence of public service values and corporate market led development

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value systems. This however is a dream and at the most an ideal to realize.

l.c
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When confronted with an ethics issues in work, a civil servant must bear gm
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in mind the key elements of OECD definition of governance namely,

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1. Democratic Political System,

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(d

2. Ability of the government i.e. stable political base; good administration

ah

and policy formation; and

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3. The way of using government power i.e. accountability, openness and

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transparency. To this may be added the idea of justice, fairness and imperative
fo
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concern for human capability enhancement.

is
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on

Thus at the end of the day a civil servant holding a senior position has a
rs
pe

Hobsons choice that is to follow the third feature of the definition above as an
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ti

ethical obligation and act by the time tested value systems in these turbulent
en
m

periods.
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Reference:
Th

1. Bertrand Russell Legitimacy Versus Industrialism

2. Foreign Affairs Jan Feb 2016 Articles on Inequality.
3. N. FergusonThe Ascent of Money
4. Y. Shimomura The Role of Governance in Asia
5. The Report of CII Task force on Corporate Governance 2009
79
 CHAPTER SIX

Probity in Governance
_________________________________________
600

The Oxford dictionary meaning of probity is uprightness, integrity and

incorruptibility; in a broader sense these include a whole range of norms in
private and public life which remain generally in the realm of aspirations and
realized in good measure but rarely in full measure because of frailties of
human nature individual and collective and may be grouped under three
heads:
1. Public Service and Probity Its philosophical basis, code of ethics
conduct, and work culture.
2. Transparency and Right to Information, Quality of Service Delivery
and Citizens Charter

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3. Utilization of Public Fund and the menace of Corruption

l.c
ai
gm
These subjects are interrelated and remain as challenges in varying
@

measures in all nation states developed as well as developing and have been
ah
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the subjects of serious study and research at institutions in the west of repute
aw
h

e.g. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard School of Government and at Lee

(d
ah

Kuan Yew Center for Public Policy under the National University of Singapore.
S
al
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Provision of some public need is one of the meanings of the word

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service in Oxford dictionary. Public Service, in this sense, has a wide and
fo
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expanding definition as it is based on public perception of their need for services

is
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which are best provided by Public meaning state or bodies/public authorities

on
rs

acting under state. One must note here that the word public which is of Greek
pe

origin is an adjective of the people as a whole or open to or shared by all. Thus

s
ti
en

commonality and sharing by all are ingredients of public interest and not to be
m
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confused with sectarian group, or family interest as often seen in India. The
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philosophical basis of the state as provider of public service and promoter and
Th

protector of public interest was provided by Aristotle in his Politics where he

argued that it is the highest form of community and aims at the highest good for
law depends on the existence of the state and without law, man is the worst of
the animals. He added that state is not a mere society for exchange and
prevention of crimethe end of the state is good life. Aristotles dictum that a
80
political society exists for the sake of noble actions, not of mere companionship
form the theoretical basis of expanding concepts of public interest and public
service which continues to influence ideas about the role of the state even when
one hears talks of minimum government and maximum governance.
By this logic Aristotle held that a government is good when it aims at the
good of the whole community, bad when it cares only for itself. Thus if the
lawmakers or the civil servants seek to give to themselves a very high
compensation unrelated to the general conditions of the people, it would be a
case failing to pass the test of either probity, public service or public interest. The
code of ethics or the code of conduct of all public servants is founded on this
perception. Orderly and proper governance, education of the general public and
respect for law, even in small things and justice in law and administration are
imperative. These thoughts of Aristotle hold good till date because Corruption
strikes at the root of Aristotles idea of the States.

601

The view of state as an institution, essential for orderly management of the

society for progress was largely accepted except the Marxist notion that the state
dominated by owners of capital was bound to be an instrument for exploitation of

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the proletariat by the dominant bourgeoisie the capitalists. It is interesting to

l.c
ai
note in this connection that while Ambedkar regarded village panchayats as gm
@

instruments for perpetuating the oppression of the Dalits, he found merit in the
ah
s

state and favored initially state socialism as necessary for progress. Towards the
al
aw

end of his life, however, Ambedkar moved towards a liberal social welfare state
h
(d
ah

with planning and focus on industrialization and using state to ensure

S
al

social justice.
w
ha

Gandhi on the other hand stood for a decentralized state; his thoughts
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fo

on Gram Swaraj were clear on one point: the village or a village cluster must
ed
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evolve as self-governing, economically self- reliant producing enough for all

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inhabitants and self-fulfilling as a civilization capable of nourishing time honored

rs
pe

Indias value systems. The concept of an all-embracing state however, has been
s
ti

gaining ground with the advancement of science and technology and its
en
m

application to economy that needs a strong state to promote what G. Myrdal

cu
do

called modernization. Such a state requires an administrative and a political

is
Th

class intellectually capable of leading the affairs of the states. Thus, Platos
Guardians or Aristotles Cultured Gentleman have qualities which a citizen of
today would expect to see among the public servants officials and those who
hold political office. Hence, the demand for good governance that is based on
ethics is an inviolable code of conduct in all democracies.

81
 Work culture of civil service follows from its ethics, service rules and code
of conduct which define the duties of the civil servants and how these duties are
to be discharged rather in too many details because of the Rule makers
penchant for not leaving any scope for deviation. In practice, however, problems
arise with the changing perception of the role of the state, especially in economic
spheres. In the pre-1947 period, the Indian administration was indeed a
bureaucratic state as the government was identified with bureaucracy because
the high officials the members of the ICS enjoyed not only executive but even
legislative powers when appointed as Governors of Provinces under the
Government of India Act 1935. Since independence Indias economic
development has eventually taken her to a path of market led growth since 1990-
91 Reforms which demands that Civil Servants should function more as
facilitators and less as regulators. This requires a change of administrative
culture from being rule bound to a flexible problem solving attitude as such
matters do not end with a bureaucratic decision but needs a dynamic solution to
promote investment and growth. There is a dilemma in this because the code of
conduct, strictly interpreted leaves scope for misinterpreting a proactive step
taken by a civil servant as an act of undue favour. This has been noticed recently
in number of cases involving government decisions to allocate natural resources
like land, minerals, and spectrum etc. pointing out the complexity of defining

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work culture in general terms; the professional demands on civil servants

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involved in regulatory administration are for instance quite different from those
ai
gm
in economic and financial spheres and signs of a conflict between these two
@
ah

cultures are already discernible. It will be explained that the culture of the
s
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Regulatory administration is derived from observance of rules and procedures as

aw
h

sacrosanct because scope for discretion is severely limited and therefore

(d
ah

decisions are strictly based on facts in issue and facts on record and other forms
S
al

of evidence.
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ha
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In, development administration, on the other hand, implementation of

fo
ed

policies & projects provide scope for application of innovative thoughts and
is
al

discretion which are expected of a dynamic civil servant. If a civil servant

on
rs

occupies positions in either of these two streams he or she is likely to acquire the
pe

cultures associated with functioning of these two major areas of government.

s
ti
en

Within this framework, however, there is ample scope for developing core
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competencies.
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Th

602

An unfortunate consequence of this situation is a wrong image of the civil

servants in media which routinely call the high civil officials Babus; though now
used in a somewhat pejorative sense, the term was originally honorific and used

82
by the British to address the Indian elite of Eastern India the Zamindars and
the educated Indians in all official communications and even to notify Hindu
Gazetted Officials; and even now the term is being widely used in social
intercourse to show respect in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Possibly, not being
aware of this position, the Media has twisted the term to mean slothful, rule
bound, rigid and insensitive civil servants, regardless of their rank in the
hierarchy. In a recent report a leading national daily has described a lady officer
taking over a difficult assignment as a babu betraying thereby the ignorance of
the fact that the term has always had a masculine connotation and hence
unsuitable for use as a generic term to define Civil Servants as a whole! One
must recall that the members of the ICS were referred to as the civilians in the
media then in recognition of their strategic role. Why this is no longer so is a
matter to ponder about as it affects the morale and self-esteem of the civil
servants and thus governance. Neither Chanakya nor Plato or Aristotle would
have approved such description of officials. To bring about an image change is
therefore a challenge before civil service.

603

)
In the Indian context, Civil service work culture can not be isolated from

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l.c
the prevalent attitudes to corruption in the society which display regrettably a
ai
gm
high tolerance level of corruption; and this is indirectly confirmed in the repeated
@
ah

declarations of political leaders of their commitment to eradicate corruption.

s
al
aw

Hence it is imperative that the core administrative values are first identified for
h
(d

adoption as working procedure - referred to the Army as Standard Operating

S ah

Procedures (SOP).
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On this subject Dr Madhav Godbole, a former Union Home Secretary

ha
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suggested a 10 point moral code of conduct founded on commitment to

fo
ed

undertake following course of action always and everytime

is
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Uphold the rule of law

on
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Promote open and transparent government

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s
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Observe political neutrality

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Provide good governance

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Strengthen human rights

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Th

Promote secularism
Neither accept nor give illegal gratification
Uphold integrity not only of oneself but also of the entire system
Uphold not just personal integrity but intellectual integrity
Undertake not to bring any influence to bear on the government

83
Within the aforesaid code, the ingredients of civil service work culture may be
outlined as follows -
Punctuality and strict observance of the conduct expected of a civil
servant during office hours.
Thorough knowledge of Laws, Rules, Regulations, Byelaws, and
Executive Orders covering the subjects entrusted to a civil servant and
a positive attitude to learn, refresh and update such knowledge. A
system of periodic in-service training is essential to create such
competence which alone could give confidence to civil servants in
doing their work and thus acquire self-esteem.
Willingness to study case history, precedents, court orders and
background of any matter that comes up for a decision. For field
officers, interest in local history, cultures, traditions and languages is
essential professional requirement, which demands cultivation of a
wide reading habit.
Free from any bias, prejudice or pre-conceived notions about any
matter, group or community as expression of such sentiments is
bound to give rise to a kind of trust deficit and apprehension among
the citizens that could be hard to change because the people expect

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civil servants to be just fair and impartial and persons with integrity

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l.c
and empathy for the public regardless of caste, creed or ethnicity.
ai
gm
A flair for writing precise orders and notes without the aid of the
@
ah

subordinates as the people soon enough come to know, how orders

s
al

are prepared. To cultivate this quality, a civil servant must make

aw
h

serious effort and to begin with maintain a regular diary recording

(d
ah

important official work could be a step towards development of

S
al

articulation in writing and discipline of mind.

w
ha
rD

Moderation in public speech, personal behavior, avoidance of any,

fo

even remotely disparaging remark, about any community and careful

ed
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dealing with the media, and development of an attitude of not

al
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succumbing to the temptation of self publicity that suggests a low

rs
pe

profile image as conducive to efficient discharge of functions.

s
ti
en

Visible empathy for the subordinate staff and willingness to protect

m
cu

their morale and stand by them by assuming in appropriate cases,

do

responsibility for their actions purported to have been done under

is
Th

his/her orders.
Vivekanandas dictum Everyone born must try to leave some
good work as his or her mark in whatever field he/she was
destined should be the motto to avoid becoming a time server who
does no good to the society or to himself.

84
604

The issues of Transparency in government, Right to Information, Citizens

Charter and quality of service delivery are interrelated. To understand the Indian
situation one must be familiar with the Official Secrets Act, the RTI Act and
study Citizens Charter that some states like Delhi have prepared. The RTI has
extended the accountability of the Public Servants to matters except those having
implications for national security to the public domain by making it mandatory
for the departments to provide to the applicants on realization of a small fee
copies of orders, noting on the files covering the entire process of the decision
making; this opened an avenue for RTI activism which has put the decision
makers on their toes and revealed cases of gross impropriety e.g. 2G scam or
Coal scam. This is a form of social audit and has potential to become a
concurrent method of overseeing/scrutinizing state functions. The study of eRc
pamphlet attached entitled Making our Voices Matter A Guide to
Environmental Public Hearings will give an idea, how public hearings provided
under the Environment Impact Assessment Rules could make the stakeholders
participants in the decision making process and make it transparent. This type
of advocacy role is essential to empower the citizens with the knowledge of how
they could access information by use of provisions under the RTI Act.

)
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605
ai
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The Citizens Charter a written description of organizations function lays

ah
s

down the specific rights of the citizens and services they have a right to get under
al
aw

the Bhagidari concept of urban governance. These measures suggest the need
h
(d
ah

for participation of broad based citizens platforms at locality levels (Mohallas) in

S
al

overseeing the service delivery; and a role for civil society that demands capacity
w
ha

of the citizens to rise above their narrow interests. This does not reduce the role
rD

of the legislators but expand and deepens democracy and to help future leaders
fo
ed

to emerge through community service. Civil Society actions therefore assists the
is
al
on

authorities to provide better service and to fix local priorities. Democracy is not
rs

just periodic elections and formation of government on its basis; it is about

pe
s

deepening peoples participation in governance. The observation of Alexis de

ti
en

Tocqeville in his classic Democracy in America that natural inclination of

m
cu

Americans to form associations constitutes the bedrock of democracy in America

do
is

must be noted in this connection. Hence, stronger the civil society movements,
Th

greater will be the degree of transparency in governance and its efficiency.

The issues of utilization of funds and challenges of corruption are separate
issues. The former relates to expenditure from out of the consolidated fund of the
state and is incurred under the extant Financial Rules and instructions of the
department issued under the Financial Rules.
85
 One must note that while major decisions involving finance, are taken by
the political executive, the civil servants play a mandatory role in not only
processing/scrutinizing the proposal but its execution in the matter of release of
funds, sanctions and their utilization, in exercise of powers as emphasized earlier
in its meaning officials own right. This substantive and constructive liability is
built into the Financial & Treasury rules of the Government (you are to remember
it while answering questions.) The expenditure is subject to audit of the CA&AG,
a constitutional authority.
The mandate of CA&AG extends to 250,000 auditable entities in India and
the task includes performance audit in addition to financial audit and
compliance audit based on guidelines and regulations framed for the purpose.
The audit reports on expenditure already incurred are placed before the
Parliament and state legislatures. (Reference Vinod Rai Not Just an
Accountant)
Auditing the auditor as a task that falls in the social domain and it is now
accepted that to ensure transparency, social audit and public hearing of the
projects and expenditures which have direct impact on citizens life in terms of
delivery of basic public services like health, education, drinking water supply,
sanitation, etc. should be the norm to supplement financial audit, so that the

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citizens get value for money.

l.c
ai
India is rated very low in Corruption Perception Index (2013), prepared by
gm
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the Transparency International. Dr. Bimal Jalan has estimated in his book
ah
s

Future of India that other things remaining the same, if there were no
al
aw

corruption, Indias growth rate would have been nearly 8 percent in the 1980s
h
(d
ah

and 1990s, rather than close to 6 %. Thus the nation suffered an annual growth
S

loss of two percent and its cumulative impact must have been huge.
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ha
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606
fo
ed
is
al

An official becomes corrupt under many circumstances such as failure to

on
rs

resist temptation which then becomes a habit, tendency to crawl when only a
pe
s

little bending was required before the political masters as seen during the
ti
en

Emergency resulting in a cynical (Chalta hai type of attitude) and callous

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cu

disregard of norms of public expenditure, public service and public interest in

do
is

pursuit of personal gains made possible only by misuse of power and position.
Th

Corruption is therefore a case of breach of trust. The corrupt are responsible for
causing trust deficit among the people. Dr. S Radhakrishnan stated that
corruption begins when power outstrips ability and when greed reigns over
value systems. Hence, lack of character and absence of moral values are the
main causes of corruption. There is however a hand that gives which is as evil

86
as the hand that takes which points to the need to make bribe giving and
offering bribe as serious an offence as bribe taking and should attract severe
penalty. Corruption also points to institutionalization of corruption in economic
and financial systems and in the functioning of the corporates in a kind of
interlocking arrangement that turned the system corrupt. This happened in Latin
America and its early symptoms crony capitalism are evident in India. To deal
with this menace, while there is a need to make laws and institutions designed to
deter corruption stronger, it is equally important to examine the systemic
deficiencies and address firmly the evils of criminalization of politics, the role of
money and muscle power in elections by comprehensive electoral reforms. It is
also imperative that systems are put in place to protect the honest officers by
encouraging the officials to speak out as whistle blowers and give social and
official recognition to the work of upright and honest officers. To achieve this
objective, a moral rearmament movement to strengthen the core values and
institutions is the need of the hour. The role of the whistle blowers is critical in
establishing a climate conducive to probity in public life and appropriate
provisions to protect and reward the whistle blowers is essential. The cases of
Whistle blowers have been covered in the ---- India Today which should be read in
this connection for understanding complex work and environment an upright civil
servant and social activist faces today.

)
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Perusal of the judgement of the Central Information Commission in the Case

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of Sanjiv Chaturvedi vs Minstry of Environment & Forests and IB, GOI
ai
gm
(CIC/SA/C/2016/000089 dated 21.04.2016) would give a real insight into the
@
ah

actual functioning of the state machinery, and the problems that an honest civil
s
al
aw

servant might face more from within the system rather than from outside and the
h
(d

order of the CIC gives hopes that there is still some kind of system support
Sah

available to an officer of integrity. For this very reason a copy of this order is
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annexed (cic.gov.in)
ha
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fo

607
ed
is
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on

The main issues raised in this paper are two first, the real possibility of a
rs
pe

proactive business friendly act being regarded well after such actions as corrupt
s
ti

on the ground that the official was found to have gone out of the way or acted in
en
m

undue haste by not strictly following the procedure; and second, crony
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capitalism that thrives on the nexus between the business and the political class
is
Th

to provide a cover for corporate misdeeds and collusive corruption. These

possibilities pose not just a huge challenge to a civil servant holding key
positions but to democratic governments under the constitution as it
encompasses corporate governance itself; and neither can be seen in isolation. In
a way this segment may be taken as extension of the earlier discussion on
corporate governance.
87
 To appreciate these issues, the mechanism of public interest litigation (PIL)
in India and class action suits and the regulatory role of the Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US need a serious study. Simply put US law
allows a shareholder of a company to file a class action suit before a court of
law if he or the lawyer representing him is in a position to prima facie establish
that the company in which he holds some shares has committed a fraud causing
financial loss to him; the court will thereupon take up the case and pass order.
This right covers a full spectrum of class actions including employment
discrimination (involving Blacks or Hispanics in US usually), consumer interest,
merger and acquisition of companies, anti-trust (monopoly etc.). The class
action suits are however lawyer driven as the lawyers while persuading the
aggrieved parties to file class action suits in their behalf settle for a share of the
Award including expenses as their fees. This concept is based on the common
injury suffered and thus a common action as remedy. It must be noted that this
course is open over and above any action that the SEC might have taken
independently against the company and is considered a deterrence against
corporate misdeeds. Indian law does not provide for class action suits; the
recent case of Maggi Noodle in this connection which in US could have led to a
class action suit by a consumer because it is viewed as supportive to
Regulatory actions especially when the regulatory agencies even in US are often

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underfunded or ill-equipped as SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Organization)

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in India which is understaffed.
ai
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More importantly class action is seen as a public instrument to prevent a

ah
s

nexus between the regulators and the powerful corporate violators and hence a
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aw

measure to prevent growth of crony capitalism. We must note also that while
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(d

India is yet to put in place a strong market regulator SEBI is still at a nascent
S ah

stage, in US, SEC plays a strong oversight role in corporate governance and had
al
w
ha

booked giant corporates like the Bank of America; even then class action suits,
rD

despite their limitations, are considered central to corporate governance in USA

fo
ed

to prevent corporate frauds, the cost of which in the final analysis are paid by the
is
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shareholders in terms of erosion of their share values twice first, with the fall
on
rs

in share values resulting from the fraud and second, for having to bear the
pe
s

damage caused by the court order against the company in a class action suit
ti
en

(for better understanding of the class action suit (please see Justice JS Racoffs
m
cu

article entitled The Cure for Corporate Wrongdoings Class Actions vs Individual
do
is

Prosecutions)*. There is still a grey area as many experts in US feel that class
Th

actions are not enough as they penalize the company being the legal entity and
not the actual wrongdoers, namely, the executives; hence it is argued that there
is need for individual prosecution of executives simultaneously.

*The New York Book Review dated 19th November 2015.

88
 In this background and as an anticipatory measure it is essential to
strengthen SEBIs role as the market regulator to prevent insider trading that
has been afflicting the Indian Stock market and to put in place an umbrella
appellate body such as the Financial Services Appellate Tribunal recommended
by Financial Sector Reforms Commission with the power to hear appeals against
orders of SEBI and IRDA (Insurance Regulatory Development Authority) and
PFRDA (Pension Funds Regulatory Development Authority).

608

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is an Indian institution which, backed up

by the RTI Act is an instrument in the hands of the public to bring to the notice
of the High Court and Supreme Court any wrongdoing and corruption committed
by public authorities; PIL has caused a good deal of intervention of the Supreme
Courts and High Courts in wide ranging matters like 2G Spectrum allocation.
Consequently the concept of public interest is being refined in the process as
matters as diverse as air quality in Delhi, public health facilities at hospitals,
access to education, conservation of forests and wild life have been taken up
under PIL which is really a move to create an alert citizenry and a step to
promote participatory governance.

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However the proposed amendment to section 10 of the Prevention of

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ai
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Corruption Act 1948 to withdraw extension of liability to every person in-charge
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of and responsible to the organization for conduct of business through a deeming

ah
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provision to provide that the corporate bosses are not to be prosecuted unless
aw

they have expressly connived in or consented to a corrupt act of their junior may,
h
(d
ah

if the amendment is carried, enable the top corporate management/owners avoid

S
al

responsibility for misdeeds. One might recall the Bhopal Gas tragedy and the fact
w
ha

that top management got away with grant of a small compensation to the victims
rD
fo

by taking full advantage of the loopholes in the legal system of accountability.

ed
is

The amendment proposed may therefore give a wrong signal as in this

al
on

scheme the burden of proof is on the prosecution. On a balance of all

rs
pe

considerations and the fact that we are embarking on the path of rapid
s
ti

infrastructure technology urban led growth, it is time for India to provide

en
m

for class action suits and put in place a strong regulatory body to deal with the
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corporate misgovernance as in a market led economy it impinges upon public

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policy and public governance in many ways; and in addition, it will provide an
institutional support to the Civil Servants to function with courage, honesty and
probity. The civil servants require this kind of system support which is more
critical than strength of what a person with a strong character could achieve to
stand by the values enshrined in the conduct rules. There have been umpteen

89
number of cases of honest officials being marginalized for want of this very
support system. This alone can stop systemic corruption by creating an
organizational dynamics favoring probity as one must note that generic in-
service ethics training fails exactly the same way that general philosophy does
and this may include even religious teaching. The challenge is all the more
daunting today because of the influence of materialistic values on the persons
opting for the civil service which evaluates a success and failure in service in
terms of good earnings by way of getting good posts and assignments abroad
and the connections that helped an official to build assets legitimately to
establish him as an official who is a cut above the rest. P.C. Alexanders
considered views on this subject deserve a serious note. He referred to what he
called joint ventures between corrupt bureaucrats & corrupt politicians which
have assumed such a dangerous proportion in some states. Thus the time
honored systems of checks and counter checks of scrutiny by Sr. officials,
Parliamentary Committees audit and so on have been rendered to a farce. In the
same vein Nirmal Mukarji noted the arrival of political bureaucrat. This has been
the basis of opportunistic trends in character and behavior by compromising
with the values the official might have been instructed to follow and this would
be plainly unethical and might invite unforeseen troubles in his career as
everyone practicing tightrope walking would vouchsafe. Notwithstanding the

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dangers involved in such conduct, its incidence came to be more pronounced;

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this probably might have among other reasons, prompted the government to gm
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amend section 13(1)(d)iii of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 according to

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which Civil servants are increasingly reluctant to decide issues quickly & firmly
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leading to policy paralysis.

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Sec 13 (1)(d) iii of the PCA 1988 was amended according to which A
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public servant is said to commit the offence of criminal misconduct if he, while
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holding office as a public servant obtains for any person any valuable thing or
on
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pecuniary advantage without any public interest Note - it does not include
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corruptly or wrongfully. This offence has no requirement of mens rea or guilty

en
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intent it is an absolute offence. Since the law does not require the public
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servant to have had any improper motive, even a benefit found in hindsight and
is

conferred inadvertently is sufficient to be prosecuted even when an honest public

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servant makes in good faith an error of judgment and undervalues as asset

which is being disinvested.
It promotes a culture where avoidance of mistakes is more important than
the pursuit of opportunities. A credible perception that well intentioned but
draconian legal provisions seeking to prevent decision making with favour seem
90
to be resulting in decision taking with fear and seem to scare the honest without
deterring the corrupt. PCA (amendment) Bill 2013 seeks to carry out
improvements in PCA that by bringing it into conformity with the UN
convention against Corruption would prevent prosecution for mere
administrative decision. A combination of sec 13(1)(d) PCA & section 120A of the
PCA may have made prosecuting agencies lazy.
Assuming that the PCA Act will be amended for better, the core issue of the
civil servants personal accountability and the need to maintain the institutional
integrity of the civil service would remain as a high degree of probity in public life
& civil service is attainable when the former reinforces the other. Thus an alert
citizenry and civil society have a positive role in creating a societal commitment
to probity in governance in a vibrant democracy. However one thing is certain
Ram Rajya will always remain a dream as there would be always some
infirmities in public life. A former PMs mournful reference to compulsions of
coalition politics neatly sums up the political environment in this regard which
is an euphemism for probity deficit. Hence, practical ethics suggests that the civil
servant understands the reality that a perfect environment conducive to probity
will not be there and the challenge or the task is to overcome these pressures
including those arising from his/her own weakness is what might induce a civil
servant to deviate from the right path to compromises.

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PC Alexanders views that probity in civil service can not be left to courts &

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jails as it is essentially the responsibility of the bureaucrats themselves, therefore
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holds good; and equally valid is his conclusion that ultimately remedy against
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corruption in civil service lies in the will of the civil servants themselves to
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remain clean. Thus, it boils down to personal accountability of the civil servant
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for his own Karma and demands that he follows the spirit of Tagores eternal
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song that Gandhiji always chanted while moving on to satya graha ekla chalo re
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- if none responds to your call then walk alone - along the path of righteousness
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and remember Christs immortal Sermon on the Mount

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Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness.

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For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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Therefore on such occasions a conscientious civil servant is left only with a

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Hobsons choice that is no choice but to follow the right path.

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610

Probity in Civil Service in good measure is thus to a great extent demand

driven because it is an ideal that every association of the people corporations,
municipalities or Nagarpalikas and even non-profit making NGOs and co-
operative societies in general should try to realize. This is possible only when the
91
concept of accountability to the respective stake holders is built in to the work
and institutionalized by mechanisms such as social audit, open public hearing
apart from transparency in function. The recent debate on the role of NGOs is
relevant in this regard as the NGOs have emerged as third sector being involved
in delivery of public services of wide ranging nature in Health, Education,
consumer affairs, womens empowerment, family welfare and child health,
nutrition, either directly with funding, often from abroad or in partnership with
the state governments; the latter is most pronounced in health, education and
sanitation and self-help group based state programs.
Governance as a concept therefore covers all such actions and not just the
work for civil services and hence culture of probity is to be cultivated in all
organized activities social, political, educational and cultural to create an
environment conducive to building a just, fair and democratic society. Modern
Asian history teaches us that efforts to enforce probity in one sector do not
succeed. A conscientious civil servant would be motivated to join a movement for
probity in public life in all spheres which will enhance its efficiency and
contribution to the society. To create such an environment, the official practice of
recognizing and conferring honour on the honest must be encouraged.
Corruption is also a product of gross economic equality that exists in the
world today. A close look at the growing inequality in India as elsewhere in

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developed as well as in developing countries and how inequality promotes

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corruption in the state and corporates as evident in the US in the wake of
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financial crisis in 2007-2008 is essential to develop a proper perspective. Thomas
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Pikettys path breaking work Capital in the 21st Century documents, how in all
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countries advanced and developing, those who have either inherited wealth or
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acquired huge fortunes have been able to retain their positions and further
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improve upon it by manipulating the fiscal and economic policies to their

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advantage and at the cost of common tax payers. The continuing movements in
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the west such as Occupy Wall Street or We the 99% in the US are signs of
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unrest and reflect peoples anger at the prevalent inequality as it is to a great

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extent a product of corruption and cronyism.

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Reference:
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1. Thomas Piketty Capitalism in The 21st Century

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2. Amartya Sen Development as Freedom

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3. Amartya Sen & Jean Dreze India An Uncertain Glory

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4. Vinod Rai Not Just and Accountant

5. P C Parakh Crusader or Conspirator
6. Public Administration: A Reader Articles by M.G. Godbole & N. K. Mukarji & P C
Alexander edited by Chakrabarti & Bhattacharya
7. Alexis de Tocqueville - Democracy in America

92
 CHAPTER SEVEN

A Summary of the Lecture on Practical Ethics of

Pro Poor Initiatives and its Conceptual Basis
_________________________________________

Background

700

Recognition of mass poverty as an avoidable social evil and cause of overall

backwardness of people and political decadence is of recent origin in Asia
because poverty was viewed in traditional Asian Societies as an ordeal- very
personal and hence destined for many reasons beyond their control; this
produced a kind of fatalistic attitude to poverty among the masses of

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downtrodden people. In India poverty became an issue as a part of the freedom

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struggle when a serious enquiry into the causes of poverty was made by the gm
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nationalist thinkers; Dada Bhai Naorojis The Poverty of Un-British India and
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R.C. Dutts Economic History of India were the pioneering works to estimate
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poverty its causes and regional spread; this led to a severe critique of the
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colonial misrule and exploitation of the masses to serve the interests of the
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British Industry and economy. Poverty alleviation as a political agenda

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interestingly has been essentially Asian because in Europe it evoked a mixed

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intellectual response during Enlightenment and even after industrial revolution

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when wide spread distress prevailed in England as depicted in the novels of

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Charles Dickens. This was due to a set of complex reasons; first, the practice of
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slavery in the New world by the European powers and growing demand for labour
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in Africa to work in the mines and second, the utilitarian approach to poverty as
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a natural consequence of market forces which need not be interfered with for
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maximization of utility and welfare for the society. Malthuss theory of population
read with the ideas of Adam Smith on laissez faire market economy and James
Mills strict utilitarianism produced a high tolerance level of inequality and
poverty in the European thinking while in India and Asia poverty was seen as a
direct outcome of European colonial rule and its eradication the primary object of

93
national movement. We must note here that even Karl Marx had no programme
in transition period from capitalism to socialism for poverty reduction even
though he attributed poverty and deprivation that prevailed in the 19th century
Europe to the Capitalistic mode of production. In this background Gandhijis
Concept of Sarvodaya and Antodaya provide a comprehensive philosophy of
poverty alleviation and Gandhiji perceived Gram Swaraj decentralized
government as the means of achievement self reliant sustainable means of
production and distribution as embodied in DPSP (Directive of Principles of State
Policy) of the constitution.

701

After world war II rise of USSR and PR of China and spread of communist
Ideas in Asia gave a new direction to the issues of poverty; first reconstruction of
Europe after the war was definitely given a socialist face that ensured beginning
of the welfare state as a practical idea even under capitalism; this was a radical
departure from the idea of state as mainly the promoter of free market economy
that would leave social welfare and distribution of income to market forces. The
socialist movement in Europe was instrumental to this change in perception

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about the role of State in providing social security, health, education, care for the

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infirm, the aged and conservation of environment and in this civil society groups
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and NGOs in particular played a supportive role. Canada and Scandinavian
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countries of Europe are examples of sustainable welfare states where the rich are
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taxed heavily to provide a kind of cradle to grave welfarism to the people. Some
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experts call it a form of soft capitalism which was broadly accepted as a

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philosophy for the state in Europe. In the third world, however, except in China,
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Vietnam & India no clear anti-poverty strategy or programme emerged as a part

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of the state development objects though there have been successful efforts in
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SriLanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Iran. The war in Vietnam that saw huge
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participation of peasantry in the conflict and the green revolution that spread
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across Asia from the late 60s generated new hopes for rural awakening and
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poverty alleviation. The famous 1973 Nairobi speech of Robert McNamara*, then
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President World Bank calling upon member nations to launch an assault on

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world poverty led to a new approach to rural poverty as its removal was
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considered central to rural development for the simple reason that endemic
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poverty was mainly concentrated in the rural areas of third world countries. The
world bank thereupon started through its soft lending affiliate, IDA (International
Development Association) a comprehensive assistance programme to reduce
poverty. Mrs Indira Gandhis Garibi Hatao Programme and the targeted
approach based on headcount poverty as per a criteria to identify the population
94
below poverty line (BPL) and providing assistance to the BPL families to enable
them to cross the poverty line has since then been the bedrock of anti-poverty
schemes under the Ministry of Rural Development and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
In the 80s the world saw momentous developments the Chinese decision
to adopt market based economic growth model, and the decline and fall of USSR
which began from USSRs disastrous intervention in Afghanistan in 1979 and
regardless of the efforts of Gorbachov to restructure Soviet economy; the fall of
the Berlin wall in 1990 was viewed as the final triumph of capitalism over
socialism and the rise of neo liberal hard capitalism. These developments did
not however dilute the importance of poverty alleviation programmes in India and
if at all they were expanded and intensified because the income disparity and
mass deprivation and poor infrastructure did suggest continuing strong state
role in rural development and eradication of rural and urban poverty. India s
position has been vindicated as programmes like MNERGA and PMGSY (Prime
Minister Gram Sadak Yojna) have enabled rural poor and rural landless in
particular to gain assured employment for 100 days and improved rural
connectivity facilitated access to product and factor market. The experience since
2000 and specially after 2007-08 global financial meltdown and the continuing
great recession has now created a new climate of opinion favourable to pro poor

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initiatives on solid economic grounds. These are primarily the concerns for

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shrinking domestic demand that restricts growth of markets and therefore must
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be reversed by a package of state policies, projects and instruments to raise
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domestic demand which presently China is pursuing and is accepted in EU

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countries in wake of crisis in Spain, Portugal and Italy after the Greek Debt
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Crisis. There is thus a reluctant nod to pro poor policies though the economy is
(d
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not yet poor centric; or poverty and inequality eradication centric much like the
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old Chinese policy of walking on two legs to balance agriculture and industrial
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sectors. It may be clarified that poor centric policies require first, high taxation
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of the rich and use of a substantial portion of tax revenue for launching pro poor
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initiatives which is unlikely to generate wealth in the short term; and logically
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this would mean a lesser allocation for the corporates which pro laissez-faire
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interests might argue as a hindrance to market led growth. Note also that such
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pro growth or pro market strategy historically has always turned out to be pro
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rich and helped the rich to get richer. In a democracy the power game is complex
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as while the poor have more voting rights where there is adult franchise, the rich
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enjoy the money power to influence the political parties to take the state to a
growth path and policies favourable to their interest.
This debate is critical for a civil servant to understand the dynamics of
poverty and deprivation and its intergenerational character in the sense that
unless the state decides to intervene most families in urban and rural areas who
95
are poor today will remain poor for generations. Thus the anti poverty projects
which are based on interventionist theory have the primary object of breaking
this intergenerational character of poverty. Empathy for the poor becomes
constructive only through conviction of the imperative need for its eradication
and faith in the economic basis of this approach; and hence demands a kind of
missionary zeal that several distinguished civil servants and activists have
demonstrated in their efforts to eradicate poverty, deprivation and social
disability.

702

Ethics and the justice for the poor demands not just proper
implementation but a deeper and lasting commitment which comes only when
one reposes faith in the basic poverty alleviation philosophy which should get
reflected in the cultivation of following values, approaches and appreciation of
poverty as the outcome of complex interrelationships.
Empathy for SC, ST & Differently abled and understanding of the
causes of their exclusions as well as many subtle forms of exclusion,
they continue to suffer so as to avoid a routinized approach to targets
and achievements in anti poverty schemes.

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Understanding of the dynamics of rural & urban poverty emerging

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from the production function of the economy and the extant policies.
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Understanding the problems of landless agricultural labours, rural

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artisan and the unskilled urban labour and relate their conditions to
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policies and programmes designed to assist them to ensure desired

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outcomes of capability enhancement.

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Growing unviability small and marginal farm holding and measures

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needed to raise their incomes in the context of the on going debate on

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the role of agriculture and rural economy in development strategy.

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Reasons for concentration of poverty in dry land/ in rain fed areas and
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areas affected by recurring floods, erosion and drought.

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The Unabated incidence of farmers suicide in central India and now

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spreading to Northen & Eastern India- its causes and measures

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needed to deal with the same including recent initiatives like JAM,
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FSBY etc.
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Bioethics issues in GM crops Bt cotton & Bt brinjal

The unfinished agenda of land reforms.
Privitization of common property resources and shrinking public
facilities for the poor like wetlands, grazing grounds etc.

96
 Access to institutional credit the role of SHGs and cooperatives /
microfinance institutions in improving the access of the poor to the
same.
Market access and restrictions on movements of agricultural produce
Technology transfer issues research extension linkage role of
Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) and Agricultural Technology Management
Agency (ATMA) in districts and current status of innovation eco
system
Livestock its equitable distribution as compared to land and
prospects of dairy, poultry and small fish farm based livelihood
security for the poor.
Social security for the poor APY, Suraksha Bima Yojna etc
Urban poverty Issues and dynamics and urban led growth and
associated poverty caused by casualization of labour and spread of
outsourcing and steady informalization of the economy and shrinking
public sector employment.
Housing, sanitation, safe water , health education & skill development
facilities for the urban and rural poor and the need for a targeted
approach

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The aforesaid list is not exhaustive and may vary from place to place

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depending on the nature of the economy and local society. Nevertheless the main
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thrust has to be on capability enhancement of the poor which the measures
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mentioned above will facilitate their realization. Democracy plays an important

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role in poverty alleviation because it gives the poor a political voice and a right;
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development is thus viewed as freedom by Amartya Sen in this sense because it

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helps towards removal of several unfreedoms defined also by Sen in broad

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terms to include hunger, lack of proper shelter, various forms of deprivation and
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discrimination obstructing capability enhancement; in urban areas, these are all

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the more important because through self help groups, producers cooperatives
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the poor could organize themselves into productive entities capable of meeting
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the market demand for goods and services.

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703
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While taking part in anti poverty programmes, a civil servant should be

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aware of the implications of inequality in a democracy. Gross inequality has been

known to marginalize citizens in a democracy. Presently in many countries
inequality has eroded the political base of redistributive politics in developed
and developing countries as evident from the corporate control over the media
and politics. One must note that in India just 10 % of the population as of now

97
own 74% of the total wealth of the country and 62 persons own the wealth of 3.5
billion of the worlds population as estimated in a report of Oxfam which was
presented at the 2015 WEF (World Economic Forum) meeting at Davos. Thomas
Piketty has pointed out in his capital in the 21st century that the wealth
inherited tends to multiply over the years meaning that inequality would not get
reduced unless there were calamities like wars. Growing inequality is the
defining character of the global economy which has led to the present occupy
Wall Street and we the 99% movements in West. Infact in US 0.1% of the
population owns 22% of the total wealth of the US and 1% about 40% of the total
wealth. Stable polity is not possible if the economy remains largely informal as in
India where about 92% of the workforce is engaged in informal sector; 60% in
agriculture and 32% outside agriculture sector which means only 8% in formal
sector. In a grossly unequal society the poor stand excluded from the market that
results in a stagnant and often shrinking market obstructing thereby economic
growth by not allowing domestic demand to grow which is a basic condition of
economic progress. Piketty argued recently in Delhi that urban unrest and
political upheaval are a distinct possibility in a grossly unequal society.
Sensitivity to poverty related issues is really a part of Ethics; indeed, the very
first task of a civil servant is to be personally convinced about the cause of
poverty eradication and to be aware of various unfreedoms and injustice the

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poor and the disadvantaged including SCs, STs are compelled to bear in their

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daily lives. The point to note is that pro poor ethics is founded on conviction
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about the social and economic origins of poverty and degradation and the
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economic justification for its eradication to achieve the objects of the state as laid
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down in the Directive Principles of State Policy of the constitution.

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Practical ethics suggests a code of conduct in implementation of poverty

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alleviation projects and other pro poor social security, education health and skill
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development initiatives. While guidelines for each project will vary a general
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approach as outlined below may be taken as guide to deal with the poverty
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issues for the purpose of answering UPSC papers.

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Absolutely just and fair selection of targeted beneficiaries in a

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transparent and impartial manner and preferably with the

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involvement of the community.

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Innovative ways of reaching the poor and organising them through

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cooperatives / Self Help / Joint Liability groups (JLG) and users

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associations as for example for sharing irrigation facilities with the

object of economic empowerment of the poor. One must understand
that poor remains poor largely because that they enjoy limited or no
access to institutional finance and without capital no enterprise
however tiny could succeed. The poor remain poor because they lack
98
 capital was the basic philosophy of the Grameen Model of the
Bangladesh that Prof Yunus, the Nobel peace prize winner developed
by enabling the poor women to form women led SHGs for their
microenterprises and other socio economic needs like shelter,
education for children etc to gain access to bank finance.
Ensuring participatory implementation, concurrent evaluation and
social audit for timely implementation.
Appropriate technology development and dissemination backed up by
credit inputs and marketing support to enterprises organized by rural
and urban poor.
Advocacy role is comprehensive for a civil servant as sensitizing the
poor and creating an enabling environment for the poor to take full
advantage of all social security initiatives of the government designed
to raise the capability of the poor is the real challenge in anti poverty
initiatives; this will include concerns for the differently abled and SCs,
STs people as priorities.
Gender issues of development are critical in any programme because
without gender issues being suitably included progress of family and
households will not be possible.

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We may sum up that values of Practical ethics will include impartiality,

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efficiency, advocacy and social mobilization and above all empathy. There is only
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one way to cultivate these values and that is to study the work of some
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outstanding social activists and individual civil servants who have done
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exemplary work for the poor e.g. Anna Hazare in watershed development, late Dr
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V.Kurian in bringing about white revolution through Amul model of dairy

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cooperatives, Chipko movement of Sunder Lal Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad

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Bhatt and outstanding civil servants like Shri R. Shankaran, D Bandyopadhyay,

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P.S. Krishnan, Dr B.D. Sharma in poverty alleviation, land reforms, development

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of SC/ST respectively and to make serious attempts to acquire some of the

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values & traits of character as evident in their dedicated work.

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704
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To make this discussion meaningful we may study Brazils globally

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acclaimed successful Bolsa-familia experiment that enabled the poor to cross

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the poverty line within a short period; this is a Direct Benefits Transfer
experiment (DBT). (Reference - Foreign Affairs, Janaury- Februry 2016 issue
article by J. Teppermen Bolsa-familia experiment of Brazil - anti poverty
breakthrough) . This was initiated in 1995 in Brazil based on the experience that
till then antipoverty programmes by and large failed due to various reasons,

99
chiefly leakage resulting in denial of benefits to the poor. President Lula clubbed
all anti-poverty programmes into a single new streamlined national initiative in
the form of a mechanism of Direct Transfer of money to the poor and this flew in
the face of advice of the world bank. He did it on two principles dear to his heart
the outcome of his development experience as stated below
People who understood what the poor needed are the poor themselves
and they spend it judiously; distributing goods thus flopped.
To experts, social problem like inequality is just numbers and at the
university they do not teach you how to care for the poor.
The wave of privatization has left millions stranded unable to
participate in the expanding market economics.
These words of President Lula reflect also the views of Dr Yunus of the
Grameen bank as he also argued that universities do not teach why & how the
poor remain poor and the constraints they face in the market. To reverse poors
exclusion President Lula felt that the simplest way was to put a little cash in
their pocket.
This is how Bolsa-familia works; $42 per person per month is the
definition of BPL and counterpart responsibilities contrapridas on the part of
the families to stay on the programme are two fold; first children below 15 must

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attain school and spend 85% of their time; children below seven must get

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immunized and guarantee that mothers and children get medical checkup on gm
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regular basis. A citizens oversight committee is to enforce rigorous eligibility

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conditions for assistance.

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The outcome of Bolsa-familia has been impressive. The Economist

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Magazine viewed it as stunning success.

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Reached 14 million families or 55 million Brazilians and on an average

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each family got $65 a month maximum benefit being $100 per
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month to the most distressed.

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Bolsa-familia costs only half % of Brazils economy of $2.3 trillion and

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is far less than the governments expenditure on pension which helped

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the miserable to become consumers.

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Cut extreme poverty by 15 % by lifting 36million out of poverty and it

is estimated by 2014 the poverty level in Brazil might have come down
to 3% of the population or below which is a level the World Bank
considers as poverty eradication.
Income of the poorest 20% rose by 6.2% between 2002 2013 and
thereby broke the intergenerational transmission of poverty.
100
 Decreased malnutrition by 16%, death due to malnutrition by 58%,
Infant mortality rate by 40% apart from significant rise in literacy and
graduation rate and attidunal change.
Provided a significant boost to the economy as the poor enter the
market with purchasing power and is therefore a pro market approach
to combating poverty.
So far 4o countries have reportedly adopted DBT approach including
India. Our Aadhar card & JAM are based on the Brazilian Experiment.
Poverty is a complex issue as its dimensions are many; however study
of the famous Nairobi speech of Robert Macnamara then President
World Bank delivered on September 24,1973 Assault on World
Poverty would be useful as it contained as a global view on poverty
and a strategy to eradicate it which holds good even now in building
an ethical approach to poverty on sound economic basis. One must
remember that despite urbanization and consequent shift of
population to urban areas endemic poverty prevails in Rural areas in
the third world while urban poverty has deepened which call for a
total approach to poverty and not piecemeal. A continuous effort to
understand the changing dimensions of poverty has to be a part of

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practical ethics and value system of a civil servant in India.

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101
 CHAPTER EIGHT

Case Studies

_________________________________________

The objects of this study segment are to test the candidates understanding
of basic concepts of public duty and service, probity, ethics and value system
and core values of the civil service integrity, professional competence and
knowledge to make rational and ethical choice; and second to test the ability to
apply these concepts to hypothetical situations that would indicate capacity and
quality of judgement an essential ingredient of leadership position in Civil
Service. To deal with the first issue, it is essential to find out their basic
commonality and interrelationship, say between public service and public duty;
thus, while effective public service in health, education, prevention of breach of
peace, or essential supplies is visible and even measurable, nature of public duty

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implicit therein as performed by the Civil Servants in world is unseen, while its
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shortfall/deficiency is quickly noted. To use a cricket analogy a wicket keeper is
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usually judged by the catches missed but not the runs he stopped.
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The Civil Service value system, one must appreciate are integrated and
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comprehensive, which would not allow adoption of some values only and ignoring
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the other values e.g. administrative decisions in all matters affecting general
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public or even in an individual case would require application of qualities such

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as impartiality, integrity personal and intellectual, probity in the matter of use

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of scarce resource and professional knowledge. To enable a civil servant to

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pronounce a proper decision which would stand the test of scrutiny sooner or
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later by the authority, which is usually administrative but judicial in many

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matters. This is to emphasize that partial adoption of value system is not at all
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helpful and could land a civil servant in disciplinary proceedings. The value
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systems are geared to promote democracy that regards all taxpayers as equal.
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Seen from this perspective, justice, fair play and integrity are QR (Qualification
Requirement for the job). Absence of any of these qualities even in small
measures would be seen by the public as evidence of lack of integrity. Therefore
while answering questions, the candidates must avoid the solution that smacks
of selfish opportunism, a tendency to compromise or to shirk responsibility

102
because leadership is the quality that the UPSC would always look for in a Civil
Service aspirant.
Clear understanding of the public policy, especially promotion of social
cohesion is necessary to promote public interest and improve service delivery.
The concept of social cohesion which is now the basis of a modern democratic
state was propounded by the Arab scholar Iben Khaldun in the 15th Century in
Tunisia to underline the advantages of solidarity of small groups (Asabiyah)
towards social integration based on a system of ethics and social values which
greatly influenced growth of nationalism in Europe in the 19th century. It will be
useful to apply this concept in case studies as a norm because essentially the
subjects/questions in the examination are set in the format of a dilemma or
options which could be resolved by applying a set of integrated ethical and social
criteria. The idea is to test the candidates capacity to form a judgement and the
manner of articulating the same, as this will indicate the candidates character
and value system and therefore aptitude for the civil service.
The word aptitude means talent, ability and in specified areas; in civil
service it gets translated in to a set of qualities that would approximate those of
the statesmen because the work that the members of civil service do at various
levels, especially the higher levels involve participation in policy making exercise

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based on evaluation and with a vision for the future.

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This brings us to the core issue why has the civil service been so verygm
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important in the modern state system? Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who
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resigned from the ICS after securing fourth place in the ICS examination to take
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part in the freedom struggle defined the British rule in India and foreign rule in
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general as the one that denied top administrative posts to the ruled as these
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posts being central to strategic core of the decision making system were always
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under all foreign regimes and as they were, under the British the close preserve
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of the foreign rulers the British element of the ICS. The Civil Servants who are
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recommended for appointment by the UPSC will hold some of these

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administrative posts by virtue of their induction to the administrative class and

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thus, will be integral to the governance structure. They are not faceless Babus;
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they never were.

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Student Note
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While dealing with the UPSC Examination papers, an aspirant must bear in mind the OECD
definition of the Sr. Civil Service as reproduced below because civil service in a generic term
that includes all posts at all levels of Government the cost of which is met from the civil side
of budget as distinct from other heads like judicial or military; and an aspirant is really
seeking selection to the elite cadre, for manning all top posts which carry heavy
responsibilities.

103
OECD describes Senior Civil Service (SCS) as
a structured and recognized system of personnel for the higher non-political positions in
government. It is a career civil service providing people to be competitively appointed to
functions that cover policy advice, operational delivery or corporate service delivery. The
service is centrally managed through appropriate institutions and procedures, in order to
provide stability and professionalism of the core group of senior civil servants, but also
allowing the necessary flexibility to match changes in the composition of Government by
using appropriate due processes.

Whatever values and principles underscored in these lectures are primarily relatable to this
high level of civil services as understanding of these values is expected of the candidates
and reflected in their replies to questions.

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104
Annexure
_________________________________________

I. The Nairobi Speech

The following are excerpts from the Address to the Board of Governors delievered
by Mr. Robert S. McNamara, President of the World Bank Group at the Annual Meeting
in Nairobi, Kenya on September 24, 1973.
"In presenting a strategy for rural development I should like; first to analyse the
scope of the problem; second, to set a feasible goal in order to deal with it and third, to
identify the measures required to meet the goal.
"Let me begin by outlining the scope of the problem in the developing countries
which are members of the Bank. It is immense:
There are well over 100 million families involvedmore than 700 million
individuals.
The size of the average holding is small and often fragmented more than 100
million farms are less than 5 hectares, of these, more than 50 million are
less than 1 hectare.

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The possession of land, and hence of political and economic power in the

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rural areas, is concentered in the hands of a small minority according to a
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recent FAO survey, the wealthiest 20% of the land owners in most developing
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countries own between 50% and 60% of the crepland. In Venezuela they own
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82%, in Colombia 56%. Conversely, the 100 million holdings of less than 5
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hectares are concentrated on only 20% of the cropland.

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Even the use of land which the small farmer does have is on certain Tenancy
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arrangements are generally insecure and ollen extortionate. In many

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countries tenants have to hand over to the landlord 50-60% of their crop as
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rent, and yet in spite of this and faced with the constant threat of eviction.
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The result is that then incentive to become more productive is severely

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eroded.
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"It has often been suggested that the productivity of small-scale holdings is
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inherently low. But that is simply not true. Not only do we have the
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overwhelming evidence of Japan to disprove that proposition, but a number

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of recent studies on developing countries also demonstrate that, given the

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proper conditions, small farms can be as productive as large farms. For

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example, output per hectare in Guatemala, the Republic of China, india and
Brazil was substantially greater on small farms than on large ones. And it is,
of course, output pert hectare which is the relevant of agriculture
productivity in land-scare, labour-surplus economies; not output per worker.
"There is ample evidence that modern agriculture technology is divisible, and the
small-scale operations need to be no barrier to raising agriculture yields.
105
 "There is ample evidence that modern agriculture technology is divisible, and the
small-scale operations need be no barrier to raising agriculture yields.
"The question, then, is what can the developing countries do to increase the
productivity of the small farmer How can they duplicate the conditions which have led to
very rapid agriculture growth in a few experimental areas and in a few countries so as to
stimulate agricultural growth and combat rural poverty on a board scale?
"The first step is to set a goal. A goal is necessary both so that we can better
estimate the amount of financial resources required, and so that we can have a firm
basis for measuring progress.

Setting the Goal

"I suggest that the goal be to increase production on small farms so that by 1985
their output will be growing at the rate of 5% per year. If the goal is met, and
smallholders maintain that momentum, they can double their annual output between
1985 and the end of the century.
"Clearly this is an ambitious objective. A 5% rate of growth has never been
achieved on a sustained basis among smallholders in any extensive areas of the
developing world. Smallholder production has risen on average only about 2.5% per year
in the past decade.
"But if Japan in 1970 could produce 6,720 kilograms of grain per hectare on very
small farms, then Africa with its 1,270 kilograms per hectare, Asia with 1,750 kilograms

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and Latin America with 2,060 kilograms have an enormous potential for expanding

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productivity. gm
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"Thus, I believe the goal is feasible. It recognizes that progress will be slow during
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the next five to ten years while new institutions evolve, new policies take fold and new
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investments are implemented. But after this initial period, the average pace of growth in
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smallholder agricultural productivity can be more than double today's rate and thereby
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benefit the lives of hundreds of millions of people.

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"Now, what are the means necessary to accomplish this goal?

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"Neither we at the Bank, nor anyone else, have very clear answers on how to bring
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the improved technology and other inputs to over 100 million small farmersespecially
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to those in dry-land areas. Nor can we be fully precise about the costs. But we do
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understand enough to get started. Admittedly, we will have to take some risks. We will
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have to improvise and experiment. And if some of the experiments fail, we will have to
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learn from them and start anew.

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"What, then, can we begin to do now?

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Measures Necessary to meet the Goal

"Though the strategy for increasing the productivity of smallholder agriculture is

necessarily tentative, the following are essential elements of any comprehensive
program:
Acceleration in the rate of land and tenancy reform.

106
 Better access to credit
Assured availability of water.
Expanded extension facilities backed by intenstied agricultural research.
Greater access to public services
And most critical of all new forms of rural institutions and organizations that will
give as much attention to promoting the inherent: potential and productivity of
the poor as is generally given to protecting the power of the privileged.
"These elements are not new. The need for them has been recognized before. But
they will continue to remain little more than pious hopes unless we develop a framework
of implementation, and agree to a commitment of resources commensurate with their
necessity That is what I propose.

Organizational Changes

"The organizational structure for supporting smallholder agriculture is without

doubt the most difficult problem. Let me examine this subject first and then turn to the
others in sequence.
"Obviously, it is not possible for governments to deal directly with over 100
million small farm families. What is required is the organization of local farm groups,
which will service million of farmers at low cost, and the creatior of intermediate
institutions through which governments and commercial institutions can provide the
necessary technical assistance and financial resources for them.

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"Such institutions and organizations can take any number of forms: smallholder

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associations, country or district level cooperatives, various types of communes. There
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are, of course, many experiments already going on in different parts of the world. What
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is imperative is that at each organizational level financial discipline be rigorously

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required, and that the entire structure be oriented towards initiative and self-reliance.
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Experience shows that there is a greater chance of success if the institutions provide for
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popular participation, local leadership and decentralization of authority.

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"The reorganization of government services and institutions is equally important.

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No program will help small farmers if it is designed by those who have no knowledge of
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their problems and operated by those who have no interest in their future.
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"The sad truth is that in most countries, the centralized administration of scarce
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resourceboth money and skillshas usually resulted in most of them being allocated to
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a small group of the rich and powerful. This is not surprising since economic
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rationalizing, political pressure and selfish interest often conspire to detriment of the
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poor. It will clearly require courageous political leadership to make the bureaucracy
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more responsive to the needs of the subsistence farmers.

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"The ablest administrators, for example, should no longer be reserved exclusively

for the urban sectors. Top engineering talent must be devoted to designing low-cost
solutions to the problems of small-farm irrigation. Young graduates can be motivated to
take on the problems of the rural poor, and be adequately rewarded for solving them.
Educational institutions should recognize that the training in practical skills is as
important as the accumulation of theoretical knowledge. In short, national managerial

107
and intellectual resources must be redirected to serve the many instead of the few, the
deprived instead of the privileged.

Acceleration of Land and Tenancy Reforms

"But there are other structural changes necessary as well. And the most urgent
among these is land and tenancy reform. Legislation dealing with such reform has been
passedor at least been promised in virtually every developing country. But the rhetoric
of these laws has far outdistanced their results. They have produced little redistribution
of land, little improvement in the security of the tenant, and little consolidation of small
holdings.
"That is extremely regrettable. No one can pretend that genuine land and tenancy
reform is easy. It is hardly surprising that members of the political power structure, who
own large holdings, should resist reform. But the real issue is not whether land reforms
is politically easy. The real issue is whether indefinite procrastination is politically
prudent. An increasingly in equitable situation will pose a growing threat to political
stability.
"But land and tenancy reform programs involving resonable land ceilings, just
compensation, sensible tenancy security and adequate incentives for land consolidation
are possible. What they require are sound policies, translated into strong laws which are
either enerated by exceptions nor riddled by loopholes. And most important of all, the
laws have to incorporate effective sanctions, and be vigorously ad impartially enforced.

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"What we must recognize is that land reform is not exclusively about land. It is

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about the usesand abusesof power, and the social structure through which it is
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exercised.
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Better Access to Credit

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"But realistic land and tenancy reform as essential as it is is not enough. It is

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one thing to own land, it is another to make it productive. For the smallholder, operating
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with virtually no capital, access to credit is crucial. No matter how knowledgeable or well
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motivated he may be, without such credit he cannot buy improved seeds, apply the
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necessary fertilizer and pesticides, rent equipment or develop his water resources. Small
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farmers, generally, spend less than 20% of what is required on such inputs because they
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simply do not have the resources.

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"In Asia, for example, the cost of fertilizer and pesticides required to make
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optimum use of the new high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice ranges from $20 to $80
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per hectare. But the small farmer there is spending only $6 Per hectare does not come
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from government or institutional sources, but from local landlords or village

moneylenders at usurious rates of interest.
"The present institutions in the rural areas are simply not geared to meeting the
needs of smallholders agriculture. In countries as disparate as Bangladesh and Iran,
less than 10% of institutional credit is available to rural areas; in Thailand, the
Philippines and Mexico less than 15%, in India less than 25%. And only a fraction of this

108
is available to the small farmer. Even then it is accompanied by stringent tests of
creditworthiness, complicated application procedures and lengthy waiting periods.
"Existing commercial institutions are reluctant to make credit available to the
small farmers because the administrative and supervisory costs of small loans are high.
Further, the subsistence farmer is operating so close to the margin of survival that he is
simply not as credit worthy as his more wealthy neighbours.
"Nor do governmental credit policies always help the small farmer, even though
the intention may have been to shape them for that purpose. The fact is that concern
over the usurious rates the farmer pays the moneylenders has led to unrealistically low
rates for institutional credit. The smallholder does not need credit subsidized at an
annual interest rate of 6% for projects which will yield 20% or more per year. He would
be much better off if he had to pay a realistic rate of interest but could actually get the
money. "In reviewing their financial policies for agriculture, governments should take
care that good intentions do not have self-defeating consequences. In many of our
member countries, radical restructuring of interest rates is long overdue.

Assured Availability of Water

"No less essential than creditindeed even more sois an assured supply of water
for the smallholder. Without it, seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides are useless. This means
continued research into the most productive uses of water, as well as substantial
investment in irrigation and increased attention to on-farm irrigation methods.

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"It is estimated that the presently irrigated area in the developing world of 85

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million hectares can be expanded by another 90 million hectares, but the additional cost
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would be high over $130,000 million. And not only is expansion of irrigated land
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expensive, it is a slow process. No major irrigation dam which is not already in the active
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design stage is likely to yield significant on farm benefits before the mid-1980s. Although
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investments in major irrigation projects will continue to be an important part of national

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investment plans, and of Bank financing, they must be supplemented by more quick-
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yielding programs designed to benefit the small farmers.

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"This calls for much greater emphasis in on-farm investment which can take
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advantages of existing large irrigation projects. There are too many casesin our
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experience and that of otherin which it has taken ten years or more after the dam was
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completed for the water actually to reach the farmers. Major irrigation schemes often
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preempt necessary resources for on-farm improvement. The drama of harnessing a

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major river may be more exciting than the prosaic task of getting a steady trickle of
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water to a parched hectare, but to millions of smallholders that is what is going to make
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the difference between success and failure. The allocation of scarce budgetary resources
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should reflect this reality.

"Thus, development of major irrigation works, though necessary, is not enough.
Too many small farmers would be left unaffected. These programs need to be
supplemented by others which can bring water to farms outside major irrigation
projectsand do so cheaply. Tube-wells, low-lift pumps and small dams can make major

109
contributions to productivity. Moreover, these investmentswhile not always within the
reach of individual poor farmerscan often be afforded by organized smallholders.

Expansion of Extension Services and Applied Research

"The small farmer needs credit and water, but the needs technical information as
well. And he is not getting nearly enough of it. The projected number of trained
personnel who will graduate annually from existing agricultural educational institutions
can at best satisfy less than half total needs of the developing world. In the developed
countries, the ratio of government agricultural agents to farm families is about 1 to 400.
In developing countries, it is on average 1 to 8,000. And only a small fraction of even
these limited services is available to the small farmer.
"It is not primarily the deficiency of funds that is delaying the necessary
expansion of extension services. It is the deficiency of resolve to do more for the small
farmer who desperately requires them. There is scarcely a single developing country
which does not produce too many lawyers, but there is no developing country which
produces enough extension agents. Governments can not control personal career
objectives, but they can offer appropriate incentives, and promote vocational choices
which will contribute more directly to economic development and social moderinization.
"Thus the annual cost of training the required extension personnel would be
modest as a percentage of GNP or budgetary resources. The net costafter deducting
savings from changed allocationswould be even less. As long as the supply of extension

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workers is grossly inadequate, only the large farmers will benefit and the needs of the

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"Behind extension services, of course, lies applied research. In a sample of five

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major developed countries, the governments are allocating annually from $20 to $50
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per farm family for such research. The comparable figures for five major developing
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countries are only 50 cents to $2per farm family.

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"The international network of agricultural research has grown impressively. The

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Bank, for example, chairs the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
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and contributes to the financing of the research institutes including the financing of the
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new institute for the semi-arid tropics. But very much more needs to be done at the
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national level to explore the special-equipment needs of the small operator, to develop
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new technologies for the noncereal crops and to help the farmer in nonirrigated areas.
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"General expenditures on research and development in the developing countries

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are notoriously low and must be increased substantially. In doing this, governments
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should give very high priority to strengthening that type of research which will benefit
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the small farmerresearch to produce low risk, inexpensive technology that he can put to
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immediate use.

Greater Access to Public Services

"In other areas too, public services are grossly inadequate. The income of the
small farmer could be substantially increased if he were supported by better physical

110
infrastructure. Because of the costs involved, it is not within the power of the developing
countries to provide all of this infrastructure quickly to the millions who need it. But
governments can provide much of it by organizing rural works programs to construct
small feeder road, small-scale irrigation and drainage systems, storage and market
facilities, community schools and health centres, and other facilities which make
extensive use of local labour and relatively simple skills.
"There is no mystery about designing programs. They have worked successfully at
various times in experimental projects in Bangladesh, Tunisia, Indonesia and other
countries. The major handicap has been their limited scale and inadequate
management. The task for governments is gradually to extend these projects to a
national scale.
"Basic changes are also necessary in the distribution of other public services. In
the rural areas these services are not only deplorably deficient; they are often not geared
to the needs of the people they are supposed to serve.
"Educational system should stress practical information in agriculture, nutrition
and family planning for those both within and outside of the formal school program.
Health services should be developed which can assist in eradicating the common
enervating diseases that afflict the rural poor. Electricity for rural areas should not be
considered a luxury, nor should its purpose be merely to place a lightbulb in every
dwelling. Ore of its most important uses is to supply power for production appliances,
such as water pumps. Power is admittedly almost always in short supply, but urban
lighting and air conditioning should no longer be given such a disproportionate priority

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in the national system.

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"Every country must examine why it can afford to invest in higher education, but
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fails to offer incentive to attract teachers to rural areas; why it can staff urban medical
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centres and export its doctors abroad, but fails to provide doctors for the countryside;
ah
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why it can build urban roads for the private automobile, but can not build feeder roads
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to bring produce to bring produce to market.

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"Resources are scarce in the developing countries, and their redistribution can
S ah

not provide enough for everyones needs. But a major redistribution of public services is
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required if the small farmer is to have at least the necessary minimum of economic and
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social infrastructure.
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"The programs I have discussed above can all be initiated quickly by

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governments, and will make a major contribution to the goal of a 5% growth rate in the
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output of small-scale agriculture by 1985. And all of these programs deserve, and will
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have, the full support of the Bank Group.

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"But the fact remains that the measures I have outlined are primarily the
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responsibility of the developing countries. It would be a great disservice if the aid

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agencies were to try to convince either these countries or themselves that policies for
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alleviating rural poverty can be fashioned and delivered from abroad. The problem must
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be perceived ad dealt with by the countries themselves.

111
II. The CIC Judgment

CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION

(Room No.315, B-Wing, August Kranti Bhawan, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi 110 066)

Prof. M. Sridhar Acharyulu (Madabhushi Sridhar)

Information Commissioner
CIC/SA/C/2016/000089

Sanjiv Chaturvedi v. Ministry of Environment & Forests, and Intelligence Bureau,

Government of India

Date of hearing: 12.4.2016

Date of decision: 21.4.2016

Present: Appellant Mr. Sanjiv Chaturvedi, IFS,

CPIOs Mr R S Negi, MOEF, Mr Viplav, IB.

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I. Background:

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1. Appellant sought through RTI, a copy of IB report submitted in relation to false
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cases filed against him by corrupt officers exposed by him during his term as DFO in
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Haryana. MOEF sought opinion of IB, who objected to disclosure. The applicant
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approached the Commission seeking approval for disclosure of IB report as required

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under Section 24.

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II. CIC Order of Notice dated 21.3.2016

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2. The Commission issued notice to MoEF and IB to present their case. Its order
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after hearing on 21-3-2016 is:

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1. Mr. Sanjiv Chaturvedi, an Indian Forest Service Officer has filed this
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application under section 24 of the RTI Act, 2005 pleading urgent

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consideration.
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2. Mr. Sanjiv Chaturvedi submitted: that he needs a copy of IB report, which

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was sent to Cabinet Secretary and the Ministry of Environment and Forests in
August, 2014, on the issue of foisting false cases against him in retaliation
against his investigation and reports against major corruption in the State of
Haryana; that he filed a criminal Writ Petition No.148/2012 before the Supreme
Court; that the President of India had to issue four extraordinary Presidential
Orders to quash illegal orders passed by the Haryana Government against

112
him; that another writ petition No.1888/2015 was filed before the Delhi High
Court claiming that his human rights were being violated; that he challenged
the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal in OA No.1275/2015 blaming
him that the documents filed by him could be classified documents, he was
guilty of at least misfeasance, if not, misconduct; that because the harassment
meted out to him is directly linked to his exposure of corruption both in
Haryana Government and AIIMS, the IB report would become very crucial in
ascertaining the reality; that he urgently needs a certified copy of the IB report,
to establish his innocence and to fight against harassment; that in his Writ
Petition No.1888/2016, the Court asked him to furnish all relevant documents,
which include this copy of IB report, to prove his claims; that he approached
the respondent authority/MOEF by RTI application dated 5-12-2015, who
rejected the request saying that Intelligence Bureau when consulted, has
objected to sharing of IB report; that IB was claiming complete exemption from
RTI under Section 24 ignoring the provisos to that section; the Under Secretary
to Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests communicated to
the applicant on 7-1-2016, furnishing a note sheet of the concerned file in
which the summary of IB report was made available showing that IB concluded
that cases against him were false; that such a gist of the IB report was also
submitted by the Central Government in their reply affidavit in OA
No.661/2015 before the Central Administrative Tribunal, Principal Bench, New
Delhi showing that there was no need to keep it as secret and deny access; that
he has a right to seek approval of CIC for sharing a copy of IB report under S

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24 of Right to Information Act. He prayed the Commission to approve sharing of

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IB report with him and to direct the IB and MoEF accordingly.
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9. For reasons discussed above, the Commission consider that applicant has
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made out a prima facie case for admission of this application urgency of
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hearing the matter under Section

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24 and hence directs to issue notice of hearing to the office of IB requiring them
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to send a responsible officer to present their case. The IB office can either send
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their representation in the form of an affidavit or authorise the representing

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officer to make oral submission. The IB can also examine the need of the
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applicant and, if convinced, can furnish the certified copy of IB report sought,
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or withdraw objection to sharing of it, allowing the MoEF to release a copy of

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the same to the applicant, and send the Commission a compliance report, in
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which case there will be no necessity of next hearing.

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10..The Commission directs the CPIO of MoEF to explain why penal

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proceedings shall not be initiated for not applying his mind to exercise
discretion as required under RTI Act, to decide on sharing the copy of the IB
report, the gist of which is already is known.

11. The case is posted for responses of CPIO of MoEF and authorities of IB, to
12th April 2016, at 2.30 pm.

113
 Proceedings on 12.4.2016

3. Appellants Submission: Mr Sanjiv Chaturvedi, appellant explained his

background and the harassment he faced during his service. He achieved 2nd rank in
IFS, received two special medals from President, during training in Indira Gandhi
National Forest Academy, Dehradun, allocated in Haryana Cadre and posted as
Divisional Forest officer, Kurukshetra, Haryana. He stopped large scale habitat
destruction including felling of trees and poaching of wildlife in the Saraswati Wildlife
Sanctuary by the contractors of Irrigation department. In retaliation Government
started transferring him. By first transfer he was moved to remote Fatehabad in May
2007. At Fatehabad he stopped misuse of public funds to create private assets in the
name of creation of herbal park in private land belonged to politician. He was
threatened and HoD warned him and also was suspended. First false case was filed
against him on the charge of a theft of a tree and criminal intimidation. President of
India revoked this suspension on 3.1.2008. Petitioner was kept without posting
thereafter till June 2008 when he was posted as DFO, Mewat, a non-cadre post, which
was stayed by CAT (Chandigarh). He was given cadre posting in Jan 2009 as DFO
Jhajjar.

4. An enquiry was ordered on departmental charge-sheet after gap of 3 years by a

senior officer loyal to Chief Minister and Forest Minister of Haryana, which was timed in
such a way that he would be deprived of promotion. Appellant sought information
under RTI, which was denied by state. Haryana State Information Commission awarded

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Rs 10,000 compensation to be paid by the department for harassment and detriment

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caused. At Jhajjar, appellant exposed multi-crore plantation scam where crores of

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public funds were siphoned off in the guise of fake plantation, which led to suspension
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and charge-sheeting of 40 field staff. Second false case was filed against appellant
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alleging he abetted suicide by a suspended employee of a plantation, though father of

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the deceased employee complained that one lady was suspected for murder. Appellants
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name was inserted in FIR. Though the investigating officer concluded it as suicide
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under influence of alcohol, the state government prevailed upon father to implicate
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petitioner. Forensic reports proved these claims wrong. File notings proved that the
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Chief Minister desired to transfer him from Jhajjar to Hisar. It was because the inquiry
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and prosecutions launched by appellant embarrassed the Government. At Hisar

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appellant unearthed another plantation scam wherein funds of the central government
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sponsored schemes were embezzled and this scam involved senior officers who were
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very close to the Chief Miniser.

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5. Appellant also caused closure of a large plywood unit for depositing Rs 26000 as
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license fee against requirement of Rs 22 lakh. He faced third transfer, this time again
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by the Chief Minister considering his post as vacant while he was abroad for training.
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The Appellant represented to Cabinet Secretary and President of India. Cabinet

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Secretary constituted a 2- member Inquiry Committee on 15.9.2010. The Inquiry

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Committee report submitted in December 2010 pointed out how appellant was harassed
by Haryana Chief Minister:

Role of The Chief Minister: Right from suspension (when CM office first
ordered to call the explanation of the officer and then suddenly calling back the
file midway before the explanation order being issued and then suspending the
114
 officer on the basis of concealed reports regarding compliance by the officer)
transfer from Kurukshetra (when the orders originated directly from CM office,
without any reference from lower office, immediately after sanctuary violation,
Jhajjar (once again the orders originated directly from CM office, without an
reference from lower office, when investigation of plantation scam was at its
peak and the officer had spent just six months) and Hisar (once again the
orders originated directly from CM office, without any reference from lower
office, when the officer was pressing for action in Jui- Mithathal feeder scam
and had just sealed ASM Plywood Unit), the role of CM office has been more
than evident, in removing the officer from the scene, at the detection of any
scam/violation. Since, it cannot be possible for any state agency to conduct
enquiry into the working of CM Office, hence it should be immediately referred
to Central Bureau of Investigation CBI as prima-facie there are very strong
evidences against CM office.

About the role of the then Forest Minister, the Committee observed; In this
whole episode, the role of the then Forest Minister, Ms. Kiran Chaudhary is
very evident. The evidences are her annoyance on the stoppage of the work of
the Herbal Park, mentioned clearly in writing by the then P.C.C.F., Haryana
and that too on the same day on which resolution was got passed against the
officer by Gilla Khera Panchyayat; proposing the suspension of the officer by
concealing the compliance reports and statutory provisions; repeated
opposition to the recommendation of the then Financial Commissioner (Forest),
Sh. P. K. Gupta regarding taking the free gift of the private land of Fatehabad

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Herbal Park; returning the proposal of Sh.

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P. K. Gupta regarding the filing of the charge-sheet of the petitioner without
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citing any reason and the case being kept pending at the level of P.C.C.F.,
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Haryana, till her being in the office; keeping the officer without any posting
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after his re-instatement for 6 months and then proposing his posting as D.F.O.,
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Jind, under the same officer who got him suspended, by over-ruling Sh. P. K.
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Guptas proposal to post him on other Cadre Posts occupied by non cadre
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officers, etc. It may be possible that because of Mrs. Kiran Choudharys

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influence, the later Financial Commissioner (Forest) Ms. Keshni Anand Arora,
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jwould have subverted the decision of her predecessors who were both senior to
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her in the service. It is very surprising to note that despite of scrutiny at so

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many levels- P.C.C.F., Office; Financial Commissioner (Forest); Forest Minister;

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Legal Remembrance and the Chief Minister Office, such an illegal document
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was produced. It raises a big question mark on not only the competence of
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these offices, but also about the intentions of the concerned authorities.
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6. About the victimization of the petitioner, the Committee observed:

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This is a case which shows the level of degradation that has crept into our
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administrative system. In the said case, a junior officer of an All India Service
was harassed through all the means available with the concerned authorities of
the State Government, which include frequent transfers, long spells without
posting, arbitrary suspension, issuing a fabricated charge-sheet, keeping the
charge-sheet pending for long period to stall the promotion, registration of false
cases, spoiling the ACR, etc., only for doing his statutory duties.
115
On the basis of the available documents, it is proved beyond doubt that the
only cause for the harassment of the officer was his stand in protecting a Wild
Life Sanctuary against destruction from powerful contractors, opposing the
illegal expenditure of public funds to create private assets on the private land of
politically influential person in the name of development of the Herbal Park and
exposing large scale financial irregularities in plantation projects, funded by
the Central Government, as well as International Donor Agencies. Certain
features of this case are very shocking that the officer was first transferred,
then issued warning by the State Govt., then suspended and finally issued a
charge-sheet under major penalty (which has been deliberately kept pending
for more than three years) for the same act of preventing the destruction of a
Wildlife Sanctuary, in implementing the orders of Honble Supreme Court
(according to which the prior permission of Supreme Court has to be taken
before undertaking construction activities in the protected areas)/provision of
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Forest (Conservation Act), 1980 (both are
Central Acts) this may be the first instance in the administrative history of
the country, when a State Govt. suspended and charge-sheeted an AIS officer
for the implementation of the orders of the Honble Supreme Court; even when
the officer represented against the illegal warning in this case, his submitting
the representation was itself considered as a misconduct by the State Govt.
and was inserted as a charge in the charge-sheet; the open use of public funds
to create private assets on the private land of politically influential persons;
preparing a highly fabricated/illegal charge-sheet by a state govt. against its
own official, in which, even the compliance report of the officer was concealed

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to create the charge of insubordination; during his five year tenure in the

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state, the officer was kept without any cadre posting for 2 years and served
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11 posting orders, routinely after exposing scams, while no action seems to
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have ever been taken against the officers involved in the various scams which
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include the case of Jhajjar Forest Division, where out of 37 beats of the whole
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division, fake payments were detected in 26 beats, but even then no action was
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taken by the State Government against the concerned D.F.O. responsible for
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these irregularities; the mere allegations of a Forest encroacher were thought to

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be enough by the State Government to charge-sheet the officer under major

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penalty, and the charge still not being removed despite exoneration by State
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Vigilance Bureau and departmental inquiry, more than two years back; even
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the personal life of the officer was dragged, into the said charge-sheet despite
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the charges being quashed by High Court; a trivial incident of the probation
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period was inserted into the charge-sheet; going beyond the jurisdiction and
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despite the fact that the competent authority in the matter i.e. Director,
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I.G.N.F.A., had already made it clear that it was a routine matter, which was
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closed and no further action was needed; repeated violations of cadre rules by
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State Government in which cadre officers were kept without posting and
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non-cadre officers were given cadre postings despite statutory rulers and strong
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directives of the Central Government; defense of the violators at the cost of

public exchequer by the State Government, while penalizing the officer for
implementing the statutory provisions; even after the charges of the
chargesheet, being adjudicated by Honble Supreme Court appointed CEC
(which found the charges of violation true and State Govt. had to deposit Rs.
1.00 Crores)/ Allahabad High Court/State Information Commission (where the

116
 state govt. had to accept in written that the said charge-sheet was framed
wrongly and had to pay a compensation of Rs. 10000/- to the officer)/Central
Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in the officers favour, etc. and in fact, the officer
getting awards for his role, including the one given by National Advisory
Council member, Ms. Aruna Roy, the State Govt. seems to be hell bent on
somehow keeping that fabricated charge-sheet pending to keep the officer
continuously on tenterhooks.

7. In spite of repeated requests by Centre the Haryana Government did not act to fix
responsibility and to take action against the officials for corruption proved by appellant.
Centre referred the entire case to Central Vigilance Commission in 2011, since state
refused to take action on inquiry committee report. The CVC referred the matter to CBI,
who reached following conclusions in its report dated 01.11.2011

The issues raised by Sh. Sanjiv Chaturvedi were analyzed in CBI and were
found to be worthy of an independent probe.

CBI is willing to taker over investigation of this matter, provided an FIR

pertaining to the offences is first registered with Haryana Police and the State
Government issues a notification u/s 6 of DSPE act, 1946, for transferring the
said case to CBI. This would be required to be followed by issuance of a
notification by the Central Government u/s 5 of DSPE aCt, 1946.

This issues with the approval of Director, CBI.

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8. Appellant was posted as Deputy Secretary All India Institute of Medical Sciences

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under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and also given the additional charge of
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Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at AIIMS. He initiated action against the doctors who were
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making unauthorized foreign trips. The police seized banned drugs worth ? 6 crore from
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a vehicle supplying drugs to an on-campus pharmacy owned by an MLA. The

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then health minister signed two internal reports which rated his work as a CVO as
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"outstanding". He also initiated actions in around 200 corruption cases during his
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working as CVO; punishment was imposed in 78 cases, chargesheet was issued in 87

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cases and more than 20 cases were referred to CBI for criminal investigation. In 2014,
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he was relieved from the additional charge of CVO. He continued as the Deputy Director
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at AIIMS. He wrote to new Union Health Minister alleging that his removal from CVO
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post was due to campaign by corrupt officials of AIIMS, interestingly it was supported
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by staff of AIIMS who wrote to PM seeking his reinstatement. Health Minister stated
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that there was no malafide intention in removal of appellant from CVO post because
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CVC indicated he had been appointed as CVO without Commissions approval and that
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appellant continues as Deputy Secretary at AIIMS.

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9. He applied for change of cadre from Haryana to Uttarakhand in 2012 on grounds

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of extreme hardship including frequent transfers, suspension and false

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police/departmental cases. The MoEF, after required approvals recommended the

change to the Appointment Committee of Cabinet ACC headed by the Prime Minister.
ACC ordered to bring fresh NOC from both the State Governments. This order was
challenged before CAT which quashed that in May 2015 leading to change in the cadre.
Mr. Sanjiv Chaturvedi, submitted these details before the courts and the Commission to
explain the harassment.
117
10. Mr Sanjiv Chaturvedi further contended:

a. that he filed RTI request on 5.12.2016 seeking copy of all file

noting/documents/correspondence/all type of reports between MoEF, DoPT,
Cabinet Secretariat and Appointment Committee of Cabinet regarding interstate
cadre transfer of himself from Haryana to Uttarakhand, etc.,;

b. that MoEF charged Rs 188/- and provided 94 pages, in which the copy of IB
report was not included.

c. that the copy of IB report sought by him is no where related to national security
or relationship with foreign country or under any other exemption of section 8
(1);

d. that gist of IB report was already made available and it disclosed nexus between
corrupt politicians and corrupt bureaucrats and its sharing serve the national
interest;

e. that when the gist could be disclosed, correspondence with IB was shared, why
not the complete report is not given;

f. that on three occasions he had sought the CBI reports under RTI from Ministry
of Health and Family Welfare, who furnished the same, though CBI was also
exempted u/s 24;

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section 24; gm
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h. that two member inquiry committee constituted by MoEF revealed how he was
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harassed and denied his rights which would amount to violation of his human
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rights;
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i. that under the category of human right violation related exemption, he is

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entitled to a copy of the IB report;

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j. that para 10 and 11 of Presidential Order of 19.01.2011 explaining the

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harassment caused and the order of CAT dated 06.05.2015 in Original

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Application No. 661/2015 at paras 7 and 8 referring to the harassment meted out
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to him;
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k. that he requires the certified copy of IB report to prove his innocence in false
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cases lodged against him and also to prove the corruption of other officers who
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harassed him;
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l. that Adarsha Sharma case decided by Delhi High Court, will not apply to his
case as facts were totally different, as the information sought in Adarsh
Sharma case was about disappearance of a particular person whereas the
information which he was seeking was pertaining to corruption and human
rights violation;

118
 m. that information sought is held by MoEF, not hit by any exemption under section
8 and hence, should be given and the MoEF is not bound by the advice of IB;

n. that he too was part of Government of India, being a law enforcing Indian Forest
officer, four Presidential Orders established fact that he was being harassed only
for performing his public duty and he is not a threat to the national security but
he was working to enforce rule of law.

Hence, he pleaded denial had no legal basis and it was against RTI Act.

Contention of Respondents:

11. Mr. Viplav, Asst. Director & the CPIO of Intelligence Bureau denied the report
claiming exemption under Section 24 of RTI Act. Mr R S Negi CPIO MoEF stated that all
the documents requested for, except report of Intelligence Bureau, were provided to him
on 7.1.2016, the Report of Intelligence Bureau could not be provided since the
Intelligence Bureau, including any information furnished by Intelligence Bureau is
exempted under Section 24 of the RTI Act, 2005. CPIO stated that after due
consideration, he obtained advice of IB who conveyed their reservations in the matter.
Had there been no reservations from IB, he would have definitely provided the requisite
information to the applicant. He also claimed that he was duty bound to follow the
provisions contained in RTI Act and also conveyed sincere apologies for any
inconvenience caused to the Commission. Mr. R. S. Negi, CPIO, MOEF further stated

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that Intelligence Bureau objected to disclosure as IB was exempted under section 24 of

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RTI. The CPIO of IB cited the judgment of Honble Delhi High Court W.P (C) No. 7453 of

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2011 dated 09.10.2013 between Union of India and Adarsh Sharma in their defence.
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III. Questions and Answers

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12. Summary of Questions before the Commission and answers found are:
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a) Whether IB report contains information pertaining to allegations of corruption or

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human rights violations? Yes.

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b) Whether IB, an exempted organization under S 24 can deny the copy of its report
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to the appellant? No.

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c) Whether MoEF was right in simply obeying the objection raised by IB? No.
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d) Whether denial amounts to breach of RTI Act? No.

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IV. Analysis:

13. Appellant Mr. Sanjiv Chaturvedi, who has charge-sheeted several Public Servants
and Political Executives in Government for corruption during his service in Haryana, is
seeking a report by IB about his own issue, not about third party. All the above
references will establish that he was victim of harassment by public servants

119
charge-sheeted by him. This fact was also confirmed by the investigation of IB as
revealed by gist given in response to his RTI request. He explained how this IB report
will help to prove his innocence, counter harassment and force prosecution of
charge-sheeted officers. Public authority should have considered this. Public interest is
clearly visible behind disclosure. None can deny that fighting false cases and seeking
prosecution of corrupt persons is in the public interest. As a civil servant appellant also
needs to protect his right to service as prescribed by law.

14. The gist of the IB report came into public domain as submitted to court of law:
There appears to be truth in the contention of Shri Sanjiv Chaturvedi regarding alleged
harassment meted out to him by Haryana Government. His request for change of cadre
from Haryana to Uttarakhand merits consideration.

15. Another most important proof appellant submitted was that for four times the
highest office and constitutional head of nation, the President had to intervene to
rescue him from the harassment unleashed by the political rulers. The summary of
four Presidential Orders is relevant here.

First Presidential Order: The Ministry of Environment and Forest has

confirmed the fact of harassment in Presidential Order dated 19.01.2011 as
follows:

10. Whereas the Committee noted that the Government of Haryana had
admitted before the State Information Commission in April 2009 that the
charges were inserted incorrectly and as a result had been severely

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criticised by the State Information Commission for the harassment

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caused to the officer and ordered to pay compensation of Rs. 10,000/- to
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Shri Chaturvedi.
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11. Whereas, the Committee concluded that the officer appeared to have
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been charge sheeted for implementing the orders of Honble Supreme

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Court and upholding the law, which is not justified, and the charge sheet
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had been kept pending by the state government deliberately for more
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than three years thereby blocking his prospects of promotion,

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deputation, study leave etc.

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Second Presidential Order: The harassment includes suspension by the

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Haryana Government, wherein the corruption was pointed out by appellant along
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with proofs. The President has passed on order on 3rd January 2008 saying that
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Sanjiv Chaturvedi filed an appeal against suspension by Government of Haryana,

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which was requested by MoEF by three letters in 2007 to provide comments and
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relevant documents; as there was no response from Haryana, President

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considered material filed by Sanjiv Chaturvedi and revoked suspension order

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dated 3.8.2007.

Third Presidential Order: Presidents Order dated 3rd October 2013 is on six
representations filed by Sanjiv Chaturvedi, against the chargesheet issued to
him. After considering the comments filed by the Government of Haryana,
President was of the opinion that none of the charges contained in the charge
sheet served upon him vide its Order No 3319-va-2-2012110266 dated
120
 21.08.2012 is sustainable and the charge sheet deserves to be revoked/quashed.
Inquiry ordered against him was also quashed.

Fourth Presidential Order: In this order dated 31.1.2014, the President

concluded that adverse entries in the ACRs of appellant for years 2010-11 and
2011-12 by Accepting Authority are not tenable and ordered that grading (eight
and a half points) awarded by the Reviewing Authority should be accepted as
final grading. All remarks including adverse remarks recorded by Accepting
Authority and grading were expunged in totality with immediate effect.

16. It is perhaps a sort of history in the career of appellant-civil servant that

President had to issue four orders to deal with harassment, by way of quashing
charge-sheets twice, revocation of suspension and expunging the adverse remarks in his
annual report. No more proof is needed to say that Mr. Sanjiv Chaturvedi was being
harassed by Government of Haryana in revenge to his functioning according to rule of
law, only to hide their corruption and to escape from extending (if) hands of law.

17. According to several documents, Two-Member Committee report and other

statements, the harassment meted out to appellant was substantiated to be extreme
hardship. The Principal Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal in its Order dated
06.05.2015 in the case of Sanjiv Chaturvedi v. Union of India & Ors, his fight
against the victimisation was explained:

2. The applicant has cited number of instances of extreme hardship in this OA,
including four extraordinary presidential orders passed under Rules 16 & 25 of

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the All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969 quashing the illegal

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orders of the State Government for implementing the Honble Supreme Court
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orders in protecting a Wildlife Sanctuary and for preventing illegal expenditure
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of public funds on a private land in the name of Herbal Park; a major penalty
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charge sheet was issued to him on 14.09.2007 on the same charges; another
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major penalty charge sheet was issued in August, 2012 implicating the
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applicant in the same multi crore Jhajjar plantation scam, which had earlier
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been exposed by him. The applicant further submits that the ACRs for the
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years 2011-2012 were restored to Outstanding on 31.01.2014. The Central

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Vigilance Commission had directed to provide protection to the applicant to

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prevent his harassment but the same was not given to him. A two member
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inquiry committee appointed by Respondent No.2, i.e., MoEF under directions

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from the Cabinet Secretariat found charges of extreme hardship including

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harassment/threats true and had inducted senior functionaries of the State

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government including the Chief Minister, State Forest Minister and senior
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bureaucrats on this account. The applicant had also given examples of false
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criminal and vigilance cases being filed against him. The CBI has sought to
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make investigation into some of the episodes covered under the two member
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committees enquiry report, which was supported by Respondent No.2.

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However, the Government of Haryana declined the CBI investigation. Thereafter

the applicant preferred a Criminal W.P. No.148/2012 before the Honble
Supreme Court of India. It was in view of this backdrop that the applicant had
submitted his request for transfer of cadre from Haryana to the State of
Uttrakhand.

121
 3. The case of the applicant is that the change of cadre had also been
recommended by the MOEF in its report of two Members Committee appointed
to go into the harassment of the applicant at the hands of the State and its
authorities and also by the two respective state governments, i.e., of Haryana
vide its letter dated 04.03.2014 and that of Uttrakhand accepting his change of
cadre by letter dated 22.04.2014. The case was then submitted before the ACC
for its approval on 25.07.2014. However, before the approval could take place,
there was a change in the government and the matter continued to pend before
the Central Government from July, 2014 till the impugned order was passed
directing that fresh approval of the two respective state governments should be
obtained on account of change in their governments..

8. We would like to conclude here by stating that even without going into the
merits of the case and only on the basis of a cursory reading, the instances of
harassment cited appear to be on the extreme side and deserve to be
taken serious note of.

9. We also take note of the submission of the learned counsel for the
respondent which clearly indicates that reconsideration of the issue is within
the minds of the respondents. We hope and trust that the respondents have
taken note of the points raised by the applicant during the course of
arguments regarding extreme hardship and relentless persecution merely
because of carrying out the duties assigned to him under law.

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18. All these prove that the appellant was being harassed, his rights were being

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breached, false cases were foisted and thus it is, beyond doubt a case of corruption

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and human rights violation, sufficient enough to invoke the proviso to Section 24 to
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approve disclosure of IB report, since that pertains to corruption and human rights
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violation.
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19. Its not a total denial of information by public authority; Mr R S Negi, Under
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Secretary of MoEF, in response to RTI request, gave a photo copy of correspondence and
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notesheet of file No. 17016/02/2015-IFS-I and No. 17016/09/2013-IFS-I on 7th

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January 2016, which contained the gist of the IB report. This gist was also mentioned
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by the Central Government in their reply affidavit in OA No 661/2015 before CAT,

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Principal Bench, New Delhi. On this point also neither the MoEF not IB has any
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justification in denying the full report, after disclosing the gist. It will also amount to
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giving incomplete information which can attract penalty Section 20.

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V. The Act and Judgments:

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20. The purpose of exempting the organization and scope of proviso to Section 24 of
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RTI Act, 2005 need to be analysed;

24. Act not to apply to certain organisation: (1) Nothing contained in this
Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the
Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or
any information furnished by such organisations to that Government:

122
 Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and
human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section:

Provided further that in the case of information sought for is in respect of

allegations of violation of human rights, the information shall only be provided
after the approval of the Central Information Commission, and notwithstanding
anything contained in section 7, such information shall be provided within
forty-five days from the date of the receipt of request.

(2) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, amend
the Schedule by including therein any other intelligence or security organisation
established by that Government or omitting therefrom any organisation already
specified therein and on the publication of such notification, such organisation
shall be deemed to be included in or, as the case may be, omitted from the
Schedule.

(3) Every notification issued under sub-section (2) shall be laid before each
House of Parliament.

(4) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to such intelligence and security
organisation being organisations established by the State Government, as that
Government may, from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify:

Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and

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human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section:

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Provided further that in the case of information sought for is in respect of
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allegations of violation of human rights, the information shall only be provided
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after the approval of the State Information Commission and, notwithstanding

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anything contained in section 7, such information shall be provided within

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forty-five days from the date of the receipt of request.

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(5) Every notification issued under sub-section (4) shall be laid before the State
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Legislature.
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21. The points of inference from above section 24 are:

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a) The organisation like IB as specified in second schedule being established by the

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central government are exempted.

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b) The information furnished by such organisation to the government also cannot

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be given as per the last part of section 24(1).

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c) The first proviso specifically exempts the information pertaining to the allegation
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of corruption and human right violation from section 24(1).

d) The Central Information Commission has power and authority to

approve/disapprove to provide the information if the information sought for is in
respect of allegation of violation of human right.

123
 e) If Central Information Commission approves the information it shall be given
within 45 days from the date of receipt of request not withstanding anything
contained in section 7.

22. According to the first proviso to Section 24 of the RTI Act, the information
pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be
excluded under Sub-section (1) of Section 24. That means even though the organization
like IB is totally exempted u/s 24, this kind of information could be furnished by IB.
Expression pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations is not
defined anywhere. For understanding this expression, one need to study the High Court
decisions on this section.

Union of India and Adarsh Sharma, 2013

23. The CPIO of Intelligence Bureau relied upon only one judgment, i.e., of Honble
Delhi High Court in W.P (C) No. 7453 of 2011 dated 09.10.2013 between Union of India
and Adarsh Sharma, wherein Dr. Vijay Kumar Vyas sought to know certain details of a
doctor who left the country and died abroad. His applications were transferred to the
Intelligence Bureau who denied, invoking S 24. In second appeal the CIC stated that
present case squarely attract the Proviso (I) to Section 24 (1) of the RTI Act, the
information sought pertains to allegation of corruption and directed to provide
information. The Delhi High Court held that information sought was neither related to
corruption nor human rights violation and set aside the order of CIC. However, the

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Judge observed:

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is easily available with the Intelligence Bureau, the agency would be

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well-advised in assisting a citizen, by providing such information, despite the

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fact that it cannot be accessed as a matter of right under the provisions of

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Right to Information Act.

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24. Based on this judgment MoEF contended that it was discretion of exempted
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organization and not the right of appellant to seek information. Appellant pointed out
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that information sought in the above referred Writ Petition is totally different from the
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category of information to be given according to section 24 which includes the

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information sought in this case. Factually it was proved that information sought by Mr.
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Sanjiv Chaturvedi is regarding the harassment meted out to him by the corrupt officers
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and politicians.
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25. The public authorities such as IB and MoEF should understand that exemption
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under S 24 is not a licence to be secretive or silent on corrupt, unaccountable,

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non-transparent ignoring all the legal guarantees of right to information under the RTI
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Act. The exempted organizations are still liable to disclose voluntarily the information
under Section 4, also answerable under other provisions of law, amenable to
jurisdiction of Information Commissions and supposed to give permissible information
subject to Sections 8 & 24, provided the information is not related to core areas of
security and intelligence. This has been explained by various High Courts:

124
1. FAA and Addl DGP v CSIC, Haryana, 2011: A division Bench of Punjab &
Haryana Court has explained that if information sought is pertaining to allegation
of corruption even exempted organization has to give that information. Dismissing
the LPA 744 and 755 of 2011, First Appellate Authority and Addl DGP v CSIC,
Haryana, the bench of Hemant Gupta, AN Jindal, JJ on 28-4-2011 observed:

The expression pertaining to allegation of corruption is not defined in the Act.

Even, the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 does not define what are the
allegations pertaining to corruption? In the absence of any statutory definition
in the Act, the ordinary meaning to the expression used in the Act has to be
applied. The expression pertaining to allegation of corruption cannot be
defined. It includes within its meaning many colours and shades of corruption.
There cannot be any exhaustive definition that what are the allegations
pertaining to corruption. But an attempt can be made to understand the scope
of the expression used in the statute.

The Act is to step-in-aid to establish the society governed by law in which

corruption has no place. The Act envisages a transparent public office.
Therefore, even in organizations which are exempt from the provisions of
the Act, in terms of the notification issued under Section 24(4) of the Act,
still information which relates to corruption or the information which
excludes the allegation of corruption would be relevant information and
cannot be denied for the reasons that the organization is exempted
under the Act.

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The information sought in the present case is in respect of the number of

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vacancies which have fallen to the share of the specified category and
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whether such posts have been filled up from amongst the eligible
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candidates. If such information is disclosed, it will lead to transparent

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administration which is anti-thesis of corruption. If organization has

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nothing to hide or to cover a corrupt practice, the information should be

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made available.
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The information sought may help in dispelling favoritism, nepotism or

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arbitrariness. Such information is necessary for establishing the

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transparent administration.
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2. FAA, Addl. DGP, CID of Haryana v CIC, 2009: In an earlier case FAA, Addl
on
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DGP CID of Haryana v CIC CWP No. 12904/2009 decided by Mehinder Singh
pe

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Sullur, on 27 Jan 2011, explained that all information sought not concerned
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with security and intelligence shall be given. Justice Sullur said:

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A combined reading of these provisions would reveal, only that information is

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exempted, which is directly effecting and corelated to the Intelligence

and Security of that organization of the State and not otherwise.

As is evident from the record that the information sought by respondent No.2 is
general in nature, such as number of posts, occupied, vacant and adjusted
between 1989-2003 of

125
 ASI/SI and Inspector. He has also sought the copy of inquiry report of
complaint sent to Additional Director General of Police of Criminal Investigation
Department on 9.8.2008 which related to corruption and human rights
violation by the recruitment agency. Taking the nature of the information
sought by respondent No.2 into focus, the argument of State counsel that the
information cannot be supplied in view of the notification, pales into
insignificant, particularly, when such information pertaining to allegations of
corruption and human rights violation are not otherwise covered under the
exemption clause of Section 24(4) of the Act as urged on behalf of the
petitioners.

3. Abid Husssain v State of Manipur High Court, 2015: The judgment and order
dated 13-10-2015 in W.P. (C) No. 880 of 2014 Abid Husssain v State of Manipur
High Court of Manipur had examined the question as to whether the petitioner was
entitled to information sought when the Police Department, Government of Manipur
had been exempted and no allegation pertaining to corruption and violence of
human rights had been made by him. The information sought for was with regard
to the recruitment process of Sub-Inspector of Police. The Court observed:

.... As already discussed above, the expression used in the proviso i.e.,
information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violence
is of too general and of wide amplitude which has not been defined in the Act or
any cognate Act. ...

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Therefore, in the context of the Preamble, what is evident is that these

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organisations referred to in Section 24 of the Act have been specifically sought

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to be taken out of the purview of the Right to Information Act, 2005 in order to
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protect certain public interests including efficient operations of Government,
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optimum use of limited resources and preservation of confidentiality of

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sensitive information. However, an exception has been made to this

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exclusionary provision by inserting the said proviso where the information

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pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violence will be

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subject to the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005. This Court is of
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the view that if any information sought for does not relate to any of these areas
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referred to in the Preamble which the Act seeks to protect and preserve and
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thus keep away from public domain but are also relatable to any allegation of
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corruption and violence of human rights, there is no reason why such an

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information should be withheld, if sought for. (Para 11)

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It has further been held that if any information has the potential to raise a
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serious question of the existence of corruption or violation of human rights, it

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can be certainly considered to be pertaining to allegations of corruption and

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human rights violation. The para 12 thereof is as under:

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This issue can be viewed from another perspective. The legislature in their
anxiety to keep certain organisations which are engaged in activities involving
sensitive information, secrecy of the State, have sought to keep these
organisations away from the purview of the Act by including such organisations
in the Second Schedule of the Act as far as Central Organisations are
concerned and in the official gazette in respect of State organisations. It does

126
not, however, mean that all information relating to these organisations
are completely out of bound of the public. For example, even though the
Central Bureau of Investigations is one of the organisations included in the
Second Schedule to the Act, it does not mean that all information relating to it
are out of bound of the public. If one looks at the website of the Central Bureau
of Investigation which is in the public domain, there are so many information
about the organisation which are already voluntarily made open to the public.
This is for the simple reason that disclosure of these information does not in
any way compromise with the integrity of the organisation or confidentiality of
the sensitive nature of works undertaken by this organisation. The purpose of
excluding all these organisations from the purview of the Act as provided under
Section 24 is to merely protect and ensure the confidentiality of the sensitive
works and activities undertaken by these organisations. Therefore, if there
are any information which do not impinge upon the confidentiality of
the sensitive activities of the organisation and if such information is
also relatable to the issues of corruption or violation of human rights,
disclosure of such information cannot be withheld. Similarly, in respect of
the police organisations in the State of Manipur if anybody seeks any
information which does not touch upon any of the sensitive and confidential
activities undertaken by the police department and if the said information also
can be related to the issues of any allegation of corruption or violation of
human rights, such information cannot be withheld.

Doctrine of pith and substance: We may further clarify this position by

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borrowing the concept of doctrine of pith and substance. The doctrine of pith

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and substance was evolved
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by the courts primarily to determine whether a particular law relates to a
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subject mentioned in one list or the other and while doing so, the Court looks
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into the substance of the enactment. Thus, if the substance of the enactment
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falls within the Union List then the incidental and encroachment by the
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enactment on the State list would not make it invalid. Thus, the essence of this
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doctrine centred round the substantive part of the enactment or the core
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subject of the enactment. Though this doctrine cannot be invoked to decide the
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issue raised in this petition, the principle behind it may be referred to while
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deciding the issue at hand. By doing so, this Court will hold that if any
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information relates to the core activity of the organisation because of

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which such an organisation has been excluded from the purview of the
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Act, any such information can be withheld except which relates to

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allegation of corruption and violation of human rights. Therefore, if

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there be any information which does not relate to the principal or the
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core function of the organisation which is sought to be protected by

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including in Section 24 of the Act, but if it can have some reference or

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relatable to corruption or violation of human rights, such an information

cannot be withheld. It may be observed that the core function of the police
organisation is to maintain law and order, security of the State and discharge
such activities which are related to and ancillary to these functions. It that
context, undertaking the exercise of a recruitment process is not part of
the core function of the police department. It is some function which could
be outsourced to any other agency like the Public Service Commission etc. and
127
 this activity does not form part of the core function of the Police Department
which cannot be outsourced to any other agency. Of course, recruitment of
intelligence officials may form part of the core function. But in the present
case, such is not the case. The recruitment in issue is the general recruitment
process of the personnel of the police department generally.

Subject to S 8: There is of course, one aspect this Court has to keep in mind.
Section 8 of the Act provides for exemption from certain information. It starts
with the non-obstantive expression Notwithstanding anything contained in
this Act. Therefore, even if any information sought for comes under any of the
clauses mentioned in Section 8 of the Act, the authority can withheld such
information. In the present case, disclosure of the marks obtained by a
candidate in a recruitment process cannot be said to be hit by any of the
clauses mentioned in Section 8 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. This
Court has already observed that such information is relatable to the
allegations of corruption and human rights violations, such information cannot
be withheld.

4. Sri Phairemban Sudhesh Singh v State of Manipur, 2015

The Manipur High Court in W.P.(C) No. 642 of 2015 Sri Phairemban Sudhesh Singh v
State of Manipur, reiterated their decision about the scope of S 24.

In this case, the information sought for by the petitioner are as regards his service
namely the initial appointment, suspension order, documents relating to departmental

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proceedings, termination order etc.

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Issue of transparency and accountability: the HC held: There can be no
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..dispute that the RTI Act, 2005 is enacted with the avowed objective of
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conferring a statutory right on the citizens in India to have access to

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Government-controlled information or to seek information from Central

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Government/State Governments, local bodies and other competent authorities

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as a matter of right. The idea is that it would prove to be instrumental in

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bringing in transparency and accountability in Government and Public

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Institutions which would help in bringing the growth of corruption in check.

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The scope of the Act is wide enough to cover all the Constitutional Institutions
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and subject to exemptions, universally applies to all Public Authorities. Section

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3 gives statutory recognition to the right to information subject to the other

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provisions of the Act. Section 8 sets out limitations on the right of access as
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exemptions from disclosure of information.

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Facet of freedom of speech and expression: the HC held: Similarly, Section

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24(4) confers power on the State Government to exempt any intelligence and
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security organisation established by it from the purview of the provisions. It

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may be noted that the right to information is a facet of freedom of speech and
expression, as contained in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which are the
foundation of all democratic organisations. Fundamental rights should not be
cut down by too restricted an approach. Even prior to the enactment of RTI Act,
2005, the expression freedom of speech and expression has been construed
by the Honble Supreme Court, in a catena of decisions, to include not only

128
 liberty to propagate ones views, ideas, opinions and thoughts but also the right
to acquire information. In other words, the right to information can be said
to be a fundamental right subject to the exemptions as contained in Section 8
and 24 of the RTI Act.

....Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 provides that

everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes
freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Read Act as a whole: To comprehend the intent of the Legislature while

enacting the RTI Act specially as regards the said expression, the provisions of
the Act, as a whole, are to be read keeping in mind the purpose for which the
RTI Act is enacted and it may further be noted that the exemptions cannot be
construed so as to defeat the very objective sought to be achieved in the RTI
Act, 2005. Therefore, it has been rightly held by this court in the said case of
Md. Abid Hussain Vs. State of Manipur, W.P. (C) No. 880 of 2014 that any
information which does not touch upon any of the sensitive and confidential
activities undertaken by the Police Department, Government of Manipur cannot
be withheld at all. In other words, access to such information cannot be denied
to the citizens. ... decision/order dated 26-06-2015 passed by the State Chief
Information Officer, Manipur Information Commission, Imphal in Appeal Case
No. 17 of 2015 is quashed and set aside with the direction that the respondent
No. 4 shall provide the information sought ...

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5. SP, Central Range, Office of DVAC v. R Karthikeyan, 2009

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In Superintendent of Police, Central Range, Office of Directorate of Vigilance &
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Anti Corruption v. R Karthikeyan W.P. No. 23507 and 23508 of 2009, Division
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Bench, Madras High Court held on 12.1.2010 [AIR 2012 Mad 84], respondent sought for
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information regarding the number of police officials who were caught during the raid by
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DVAC together with the list of names, the designation and the address of officials, along
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with the amount recovered from each officials as well as the details of departmental
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action taken against each officials, the details of prosecution launched against the
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officials under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the status of such prosecution
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against each officials and whether the persons whose names are furnished were
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reinstated in service and if so, the date on which they had rejoined service as well as
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the details of list of action taken by the department to prevent corruption at Police
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Station/Branches/Wings in Chennai City.

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The Information Commission, directed to furnish the information. Madras High Court
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did not accept the contention of state in writ petition and held that in the event the
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information required by an applicant relates to the allegations of corruption, the said

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department cannot claim the exemption from furnishing those particulars relating to
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corruption. The Court further held:

In terms of Section 24(4), the State Government is empowered to notify in the

Official Gazette that nothing contained in the Right to Information Act shall
apply to such intelligence and security organization being organizations
established by the State Government. Nevertheless, in the light of the first

129
 proviso, such power being conferred on the State Government to notify
exempting such intelligence and security organizations, it cannot notify in
respect of the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and
human rights violations. As a necessary corollary, the power to exempt from
the provisions of the Act is not available to the State Government even in case
of intelligence and security organizations in respect of the information
pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations. .... As
all these particulars (sought by RTI applicant) would certainly relate to
corruption, the Government Order has no application to the facts of this case.

Thereafter, the Division Bench upheld the order of the learned single Judge
dismissing the writ petitions preferred by the Public Information Officer, the
petitioner herein in refusing to furnish the information.

6. Superintendent of Police v. M. Kannappan, 2012

Referring to above division bench judgment, the Madras High Court in another case
stated that exempted organization shall comply with Section 4(1)(b)(v). In
Superintendent of Police v.

M. Kannappan, WP No 805/2012, D Hariparandhaman, J of the Honble High Court of

Madras, held on 28.12.2012, [2013(292) ELT 24 (Mad)] that a copy of the Vigilance
Manual of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti- Corruption is information pertaining to

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corruption and thus shall be shared. The single bench said that in view of the

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judgment of the Division Bench

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read with the provisos to Section 24(4) of the RTI Act, respondent was entitled to have
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the manual of the DVAC.

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The manual cannot be kept as a secret document. It is nothing but a set of

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rules as to how the DVAC is functioning. I am not able to understand as to why

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the DVAC feels shy to furnish the manual. ...Likewise, the public authorities
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shall maintain the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records for
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discharging their functions as contemplated under Section 4(1)(b)(v) of the RTI

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Act.
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Section 2(f) defines "information" and the same is also extracted hereunder: 2.
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Definitions.-- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

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(f) "information"' means any material in any form, including records,

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documents, memos, e- mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars,

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orders logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material

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held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which
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can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in
force.

On a cumulative reading of Sections 2(f), 4(1)(b)(v), 8 and the provisos to

Section 24(4), I am of the view that the first respondent is entitled to the
manual of DVAC. Hence, finding no infirmity in the impugned order, the writ
petition fails and the same is dismissed.

130
VI. Conclusions

26. Let us see what sort of information was directed by High Courts to be provided
by organizations exempted under Section 24:

1. Number of vacancies which have fallen to the share of the specified category
and whether posts have been filled from amongst the eligible candidates. (P
& H, 2011)

2. Inquiry report of complaint sent to Addl DG of Police of Criminal

Investigation Department. (P & H 2009)

3. Recruitment process of Sub-Inspector of Police. (Manipur, 2015)

4. Appellants service related details like appointment, suspension, documents

relating to departmental proceedings, termination order etc. (Manipur 2015)

5. Number of police officers who were caught during ACB raid, with list of names,
amount recovered and details of prosecution with status of action taken.
(Madras HC 2009)

6. Copy of the Manual of Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (Madras 2012)

27. Let us cull out the principles of transparency laid down in these decisions:

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a) The expression pertaining to allegation of corruption cannot be defined. It

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includes within its meaning many colours and shades of corruption.
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b) Therefore, even in organizations which are exempt from the provisions of the Act,
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in terms of the notification issued under Section 24(4) of the Act, still
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information which relates to corruption or the information which excludes the

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allegation of corruption would be relevant information and cannot be denied for

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the reasons that the organization is exempted under the Act.

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c) If such (vacancies related) information is disclosed, it will lead to transparent

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administration which is anti-thesis of corruption. If organization has nothing to

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hide or to cover a corrupt practice, the information should be made available. (P

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& H High Court in 2011)

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d) All information sought not concerned with security and intelligence shall be
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given. (P & H High Court in 2009)

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e) If any information sought for does not relate to any of these areas referred to in
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the Preamble which the Act seeks to protect and preserve and thus keep away
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from public domain but are also relatable to any allegation of corruption and
violence of human rights, there is no reason why such an information should be
withheld, if sought for.

f) It does not, however, mean that all information relating to these organisations are
completely out of bound of the public.

131
 g) If there are any information which do not impinge upon the confidentiality of the
sensitive activities of the organisation and if such information is also relatable to
the issues of corruption or violation of human rights, disclosure of such
information cannot be withheld.

h) Therefore, if there be any information which does not relate to the principal or
the core function of the organisation which is sought to be protected by
including in Section 24 of the Act, but if it can have some reference or relatable
to corruption or violation of human rights, such an information cannot be
withheld. (Manipur HC Abid Hussain case 2015)

i) Fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression, in which the Right to

information is an inherent part, should not be cut down by too restricted an
approach (with reference to Section 24)

j) The right to information can be said to be a fundamental right subject to the

exemptions as contained in Section 8 and 24 of the RTI Act.

k) Section 24 alone should not be read in isolation. To comprehend the intent of the
legislature while enacting the RTI Act should be read as a whole keeping in mind
the purpose for which RTI Act is enacted and it may be further noted that the
exemptions cannot be construed so as to defeat the very objective sought to be
achieved in the RTI Act 2005.

l) On a cumulative reading of Sections 2(f), 4(1)(b)(v), 8 and the provisos to Section

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the manual of Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption could be given. (Sri

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Phairemban Sudhesh Singh v State of Manipur) gm
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28. These orders of the High Courts should have been also considered or legal
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counsels should have advised MoEF or IB, if consulted; unfortunately they ignored this
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essential wisdom readily available in these orders.

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29. The IB, in performance of its duty, established that appellant was being harassed
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for exposing corruption. Its sad that same department which recognized and
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established fact of harassment of the appellant denied that copy to him. Similarly it was
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two member committee constituted by MoEF which established the extreme hardship
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the appellant was subjected to. This indicates the mindset of public authorities with
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reference to RTI Act. The CPIO should have acted independently and applied his mind
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as mandated by RTI Act to examine what would be harm or threat to national security
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if complete report containing this issue is shared. Similarly the CPIO of MoEF did not
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hesitate to deny simply because IB did not want. He also failed to exercise his statutory
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duty using his independent discretion.

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30. This attitude lends support to the criticism that state is the biggest litigant
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fighting a citizen or its own officer in tribunals and courts. Can this be called acting in
good faith? Good faith means the officers are expected to act with due care and caution.
Public authorities should neither fear nor hesitate to take a decision in time and
should not throw their responsibility of decision-making on others. The indecision is
compelling the tribunals to step into the shoes of executive authorities. These
authorities should understand that RTI Act is a tool to enable that fear to decide, to
decide.
132
31. Moreover, both the CPIOs have put forward stale and feeble defenses without
understanding the purport of Section 24, in spite of interpretational directions by High
Courts. Claiming that he was duty bound to follow provisions of RTI Act, CPIO of MoEF
has selectively cited one High Court order conveniently ignoring judgments of several
High Courts which very lucidly explained that there are several categories of
information need to be given even by the organizations exempted under S 24. They also
ignored actual purport of High Courts decision in Adarsh Sharma case. The IB report
is no more a secret, as it has already gone in to public domain with Government filing
affidavits in Courts of law, extensive media coverage, RTI applications and responses
thereof. It is almost known to all public servants like political executives and civil
service officers at Center and States that applicant is being victimized for booking
responsible officers in afforestation scandal. Thus on questions of fact and of law, the IB
report cannot be withheld from appellant.

32. The appellant stated that he did not dig any scandal on his own but acted as per
rule of law on the complaints/files that reached him in his official capacity as forest
officer. None should face wrath of corrupt public officers and be victimized for acting as
per law. It is not question of Sanjiv Chaturvedi or any other but the requirement of
protecting thousands of sincere officers who are silently protecting the rule of law, to
enable and embolden them by developing systemic safeguards as provided in the

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Constitution. The rule of law governed system should stand like rock by those who

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fight corruption. People in general should not form an opinion that it is not happening.
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If dozens of corrupt officers are united so strongly and enriched with corrupt money to
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take the litigation to its peak levels and consume decades to continue in power joining
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hands with corrupt political rulers and deliberately engaging sincere officers in
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litigation to clear their way of corrupt activity. The silence and inaction of majority of
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officers in several public authorities is lending support to corrupt and demoralizing the
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honest. Incidents around Sanjiv Chaturvedi are the examples of this phenomenon.
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33. It appears that appellant was compelled to approach President, Supreme Court,
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High Court, CAT and CIC. He filed a writ petitions before Honble Supreme Court of
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India under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking direction to CBI to take over of
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investigation of cases referred to in CBI report dated 1.11.11 etc. He also filed writ
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petitions before Honble Delhi High Court. Fortunately the Constitutional governance
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permits top Political-executives like the President, the Prime Minister, Governors, Chief
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Ministers or bureaucratic heads to come to rescue of officers working sincerely against

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corruption wherever it is. If they do so, there will be no need for sincere officers to
approach tribunals- judicial or quasi judicial, seeking protection of rule of law. The
Constitutional governance should not allow people to lose faith in Satyamev Jayathe
(the national motto which means truth alone triumphs) or Dharmo Rakshathi
Rakshitah (You protect rule of law, it protects you). No public servant should be

133
prosecuted for prosecuting corrupt babus or corrupt nethas for eating away huge
public money.

34. What has been stated in historic report of N N Vohra in 1993, is being proved
repeatedly.

N N Vohra has drawn the following conclusions:-

(i) On the basis of the extensive experience gained by our various concerned
intelligence, investigative and enforcement agencies, it is apparent that
crime Syndicates and Mafia organisations have established themselves in
various parts of the country.

(ii) The various crime Syndicates /Mafia organisations have developed

significant muscle and money power and established linkages with governmental
functionaries, political leaders and others to be able to operate with impunity.
(Para 10.1)

35. In this context, the Commission finds it relevant to reproduce the poem of
bravery and honesty by the Poet Laureate, Vishwa Kavi, who penned national anthem,
Rabindranath Tagore, more appropriately quoted in Indian Medical Association vs. Union
of India and others [(2011) 7 SCC 179] to say that honesty should never be punished

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and corrupt rewarded:

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Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge
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come out from the depth of truth

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Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

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Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Onto the dreary
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desert sand of dead habit

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Where the mind is led forward by thee Into

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ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven

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of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

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Ravindranath Tagore 1861-1941

36. Supreme Court hoped and trusted that a situation may never arise, where
honesty is punished and corruption rewarded. Such a system cannot be expected to last
for a long time.

134
37. Thus Commission concludes

a) It is factually proved that appellant was put to extreme hardship by the corrupt
political rulers and corrupt public servants in retaliation of his unstinted
implementation of rule of law.

b) The gist of IB report as furnished by IB in response to the RTI request of

appellant in this case shows that its disclosure could cause no harm to core
activity of security or intelligence of IB.

c) Section 24 of RTI Act does not authorize the public authorities exempted under
this section to block entire information held by it or generated and given to other
public authorities enbloc, but it exclusion from disclosure is limited to that
which pertains to core functioning of security and intelligence aspect of
exempted organization.

d) The IB report sought by appellant is not the information excluded from purview
of disclosure by RTI Act.

e) The IB report is information as per Section 2(f) held by MoEF and also
information pertaining to the allegation of corruption or human rights violation
as per Section 24 second proviso and hence certified copy of the same shall be

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given to the appellant.

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f) The public authorities exempted under s 24 cannot use it to stonewall all RTI
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requests indiscriminately. The IB has a statutory duty to make all arrangements

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to provide the information other than that concerning security and intelligence
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if it pertains to corruption or human rights violation, or useful to prevent

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corruption or human rights violation, either under voluntary disclosure clauses

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or other provisions of RTI Act.

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VII. DECISION:
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38. The Commission approves that the copy of the IB report concerning the
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appellant, as sought by him is the information pertaining to allegations of corruption

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and human rights violations and thus shall be given to the appellant. Hence the
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Commission directs the IB or MoEF to provide certified copy of IB report relating to Mr.
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Sanjiv Chaturvedi, sought through RTI dated 05.12.2015 as soon as possible not beyond
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6.5.2016. The Commission would like to bring it to the notice of two public authorities
that the petitioner has every right under RTI Act to complain and the Commission has a
duty to initiate penal proceedings against non-compliance of this order.

(M. Sridhar Acharyulu)

Information Commissioner

135
Authenticated true copy

(Babu Lal) Deputy Registrar

Addresses of the parties:=

1. The Office of Director of Intelligence Bureau,

Ministry of Home Affairs, North Block,
New Delhi-110001

2. The CPIO under the RTI Act, Government of India,

RTI Cell (Mr. R.S.Negi, Under Secretary/CPIO)

Ministry of Environment and Forests, Indira Paryavaran Bhavan, Jor Bagh Road, Lodi
Road Post Office,
New Delhi-110003

3. Shri Sanjiv Chaturvedi, DII/8, Western Campus,

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, AIIMS, Ansari Nagar,
New Delhi-110029

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