Conduct rules: Meaning, implication, examples, misconduct vs.

crime and case studies

Conduct rules

Conduct Rules lay down clear principles as to what the Government expects from its employees.

Conduct rules apply to both official AND personal life of the government servant.

If an official violates conduct rules, he may face warning/disciplinary action/departmental proceedings. They are very different from regular
Criminal court proceedings. How?

Difference: Court vs Departmental Proceedings

Court proceedings / Criminal trial

Departmental proceedings / inquiry/Misconduct

Judge hears both sides

Inquiry officer hears both sides.

Judge gives punishment.

Inquiry officer doesnt give punishment. He merely sends his findings to

the disciplinary authority (e.g. Secretary of the department)
Then disciplinary authority decides punishment against the employee.

Double jeopardy doesnt apply. e.g

1.

court case is going on- yet department can start its own
proceedings/inquiry.

Article 20: Protection against Double

Jeopardyapplies.

2.

court acquits the accused employee- yet department can continue its
proceedings/inquiry.

No person can be prosecuted-punished for

same offense twice.

3.

Officer files bogus bill to get LTC/Travelling allowance. Department

finds him guilty- orders him to repay from salary, matter is considered
over. (Punishment #1). But Five years hence, department refuses to give
him promotion citing earlier misconduct. (punishment #2)

Art.311: central-service/state-service/all India service member cannot

be dismissed/removed/reduced in rank, except after an inquiry with
reasonable opportunity to defend himself.

Principles of natural Justice apply in every

case.

Every accused is given the opportunity to

defend himself- even in the cases of national
security (e.g. Kasab, Afzal Guru)

BUT this doesnt always apply.

For example President can remove an All India service officer, in the
interest of national security -without holding any inquiry, without giving
reasonable opportunity to defend himself, cross-examine witnesses etc.

Well see more about Art. 311 in separate article later.

Jurisdiction is territorial in nature.

Department can still take action for conduct unbecoming of a

e.g. Hunting bear/deer is legal in certain

states of USA. Indian citizen goes there, hunts
wild animals. Indian court cant punish, when he
comes back.

government employee.

same for smoking marijuana in

Netherlands and shooting pornography in
California.

e.g. Indian officer is sent abroad for training and involves in those type
of activities.

Doesnt apply to minor cases.

Judge cannot hear the matter if he himself is a witness /

complainant in that crime.

e.g. Boss himself witnesses that employee has come late in the
office/did not wear uniform/ was sleeping on job etc. He can cut salary.

guilty employee gets

guilty person gets jail/fine/both

Major penalty: dismiss, remove, rank reduction, compulsory

retirement.
Minor Penalty: censure, withholding promotion/ increment, recovering

loss.

by the way warning, displeasure, suspension=doesnt count as punishment. Well

see more about types of penalties in later article.

Police/Sarkaari Vakil will have to prove the

casebeyond all reasonable doubts that
accused person indeed committed the crime.

Burden of Proof in establishing a case lies

on the prosecution.

Benefit of doubt goes to the accused.

Evidence Act applies

Criminal Procedure code applies

Not necessary to prove the case beyond all reasonable doubts.

If inquiry officer finds there is good chance that employee did the
mischief=> can declare him guilty.
Decision is taken based on preponderance of probability.

Doesnt apply. Inquiry Officer can even rely on evidences that are not
admissible in courts. Examples in following points:

Hear-say evidence is not admissible e.g. Witness

claims someone told me that Accused person had affair
with that dead woman.

Hear-say evidence may be accepted in a departmental inquiry provided it has

reasonable nexus and credibility.

Sting operations may be admissible subject to certain

criteria, such as the court being satisfied about the
authenticity of the evidence and the identity of the
persons depicted.

Inquiry officer may accept Sting operation as evidence without such caveats. He
may even hold the government servant guilty- even if there is reasonable doubt e.g.
video is not showing his clear face.

Tape recorded conversations are admissible in court.

But there has to be strong corroborative evidences,
otherwise termed as weak evidences.

Tape-recorded evidence can be freely admitted without such caveats.

Document cannot be accepted as evidence IF the

person who wrote the document, is not available for
cross-examination.

Can be accepted, even if document maker is not available for cross-examination.

Evidence of accomplice needs corroboration.

Evidence of accomplice may be accepted without corroboration.

Circumstantial evidences enough for conviction- but

must complete the chain of events.

Can be accepted without completing chain of events.

conduct rules: Examples

Conduct rules differ from service to service. example All India services have their own conduct rules, central services have their own rules and
state services have their own rules.

Here goes the list of some conduct rules (not-exhaustive), that should help you write the case studies related answer in a right direction.

Ive classified them in four types: conduct rules affecting your

1.

office life

2.

public life

3.

financial life

4.

personal life

#1: Conduct Rules4 Office Life

Respecting the hierarchy

1.

Should apply his best judgment- except when acting under the direction of his superior officer. He shall obtain such direction in writing. If
impracticable to get written order on spot, then get the written order as soon thereafter as possible.

2.

Should not evade the responsibility by asking written instruction of superior, where it is not necessary in the scheme of work distribution. (see
the first case study at bottom)

3.

Must not bring outside influence upon any superior authority for transfer, posting, promotion etc.

4.

Ensure his subordinates show integrity and devotion to duty.

5.

For office matters, he must not directly approach court/tribunals for grievance redressal before exhausting remedies in the departmental
hierarchy. (i.e. Complaining to his boss=>his boss=>his boss..if none of them helps, then approach court/tribunal.)

Work related

1.

Must not engage a private person to perform his official duties. (see case study at bottom)

2.

Unauthorized absence from duty=misconduct. (see case study at bottom)

3.

Cannot do social / charitable service during office hours. (see case study at bottom)

4.

Must finish his assignments within time and quality limits.

5.

Must not to adopt dilatory tactics or wilfully cause delays in official work.

6.

Needs to show respect, courtesy, cooperation to everyone.

Sexual harassment

Must not discriminate agains working woman. Must not indulge in sexual harassment- including
1.

physical contact and advances

2.

a demand or request for sexual favours

3.

sexually coloured remarks

4.

showing pornography

5.

any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature

Strike

1.

Must not join any employee union/ labour union without government permission.

2.

Must not threaten to go on strike to meet his demand / demand of any other Government servant

3.

hunger strike, refusal to accept salary, non-cooperation with superior officer and other satyagraha type activities also forbidden.

Generic

1.

maintain absolute integrity

2.

maintain devotion to duty

3.

Avoid conduct unbecoming of a Government servant. It is not possible to have an exhaustive list of actions which would be unbecoming of a
Government servant- but overall, any conduct that goes against the general norms of morality, decency, decorum and propriety = conduct
unbecoming of a government servant.

Misconduct in previous job

1.

Action can be taken against a Government servant in respect of misconduct committed by him in his previous employment- IF it has rational
connection with his present job that renders him unfit and unsuitable.

2.

e.g. Person working as accountant. but later court declared him guilty of forgery in an old case related to his previous job.=> present
department can take action. (And double jeopardy doesnt apply).

#2: Conduct Rules4 Public Life

Public honor

Without government permission, he must not accept any honor, ceremony, meeting, rally held in his honor (or in honor of another employee).

Farewell party during retirement/transfer=permitted.

Simple and inexpensive entertainments arranged by public bodies or institutions=permitted.

Vindication of official acts

Suppose public/press has made some remarks against him for his official conduct. He cannot file defamation suit against them or make press statements,
without government permission.

Freedom of Speech

Shall not divulge information he got during his official capacity-to a third party- except under good faith or when required by the law /
departmental rules.

shall guard the official secrets. (Except where RTI applies.)

Shall not make any public utterance that would embarrass relations between

union vs state

state vs state

India vs foreign country

executive/judi./legislature

Criticizing any policy of union / state government.

Needs government permission before publishing book / writing in newspaper / appearing on TV radio EXCEPT literary, artistic or scientific
character.

He shall not do above things even anonymously or pseudonymously.

Politics

must not take part in politics

must not give election fund/ assistance to any political party

Can vote. But must not tell his preference to other people.

Must not display any election symbols on his person, vehicle or home.

Must not participate in rally, dharna-pradarshan, and demonstration without government permission

#3: Conduct rules4 Financial Life

@Office

1.

Must show diligence and probity in spending public money.

2.

Cannot demand funds from anyone without government permission- even for good / charitable cause. (see the case study at bottom)

Sharemarket

1.

Must not make speculative investment in share market. Frequent purchase or sale of bonds/equity=counts as speculation. Because
speculative=risky=can make him indebted. and indebted employee= more likely to accept bribes.

2.

Must not buy shares/bonds from people he has official dealings with. because this opens pandoras box for bribe transfer. e.g contractor sells
his shares worth 1 lakh (at current market rate) to engineer at a throwaway price of just Rs.10000.

3.

An occasional investment in Mutual funds/ ULIP etc. permitted. But has to notify government about such movable assets.

Private trade

1.
2.

Must not take any Private trade or employment without government permission.
Must not accept any fees from any public / private authority without government permission. (e.g. can write scientific article in magazine
without government permission but IF magazine editor gives him money for the article=> must get governments permission before taking that
money).

3.

Must not involve in management of any cooperative society, bank, and company without government permission.

4.

If he is an officer bearer in any Co-operative Societies, Institutions, clubs, gym etc. must maintain its finances with full integrity.

5.

Must not promote his family members insurance/commission agency.

Loans related

1.

Must not lend money to any person at interest rate.

2.

Must not borrow/lend money to any person he has official dealings with. (same for his family members)

3.

Can borrow/lend money to a friend/relative but only small amount, temporary period, interest free.

4.

Must avoid Insolvency and habitual indebtedness.

Property related

Must furnish details about movable or immovable property bought/sold by him or his family. (including purchase, sale, renting, leasing, mortgage, gift.)

employee rank

furnish asset details to

class 3, class 4

head of the office

class 2, class 1

head of the department.

must not rent/lease his government quarter (house) to a third party

must avoid habitual indebtedness or insolvency

Must not make any investment/renting/leasing that is likely to embarrass or influence him in the discharge of his official duties. (same for his
family member)

#4: Conduct Rules4 Personal life

family=any person bound to him by blood / marriage, and wholly dependent on him.

Marriage/family

1.

Bigamy prohibited. Even if bigamy permitted under his religions personal law- he needs to get government permission.

2.

Must not give dowry, take dowry or demand dowry.

3.

Must not neglect his parents, wife and children.

4.

Must not employ child labor

5.

Observe age limit in marriage. Must not marry off his underage children, must not attend such ceremonies of other relatives.

6.

7.

Must not involve in adultery, moral turpitude etc. Moral turpitude is not limited to sex and unnatural relationship. It implies depravity and
wickedness of character anything that could shock the moral conscience of society in general.
protect environment, wild life and cultural heritage and other fundamental duties;

Public life of family members

1.

Shall not use his position or influence to get job for his family member in a public/private office.

2.

needs government permission before his son / daughter to gets job in any private undertaking that has official dealings with government

3.

make all attempts to deter his family member from joining any organization that is involved in subversive/ criminal activities.

4.

must inform his departmental authority, if he is working with/under a government servant who happens to be his relative

Gifts

1.

Must not accept gifts, free transport, boarding, lodging, lavish hospitality or frequent hospitality etc. from anyone he has official dealings with.

2.

Must not allow his family member/ middlemen to accept ^such gifts/hospitality either.

3.

A casual/occasional meal, lift or other social hospitality = doesnt count as gift.

4.

Can accept gifts during weddings, anniversaries or religious functions. As long as theyre within reasonable limits and social norms.

5.

Must declare expensive gifts received by him / his family member.

Arrest and detention

1.

If arrested, he must inform the details to his superiors.

2.

If spends more than 48 hours in police custody=automatically deemded suspended.

and ofcourse Desi Liquor

1.

Avoid consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs- even in areas where it is legally permitted.

2.

Must not come to duty while under influence of liquor/drugs.

3.

Must not appear drunk in public places even during off-duty hours.

anyways, enough of conduct rules, lets check some case studies:

Disobeying written order

1.

Honest employee GuruDutt is suspended by his corrupt Head of Department Prem Chopra. Prem also sends written instruction to Accounts
officer DevAnand to stop Gurus salary with immediate effect and pay him subsistence allowance only. Guru is filing writ petition and expects
that court will give him favorable verdict within a week. Dev decides to delay on Prems instruction and sanctions full salary to GuruDutt.

hint: Yes, Suspended employee is not entitled to full salary- he gets subsistence allowance only. Therefore Prems written order is valid, irrespective of how
corrupt Prem Chopra himself is. Dev must not apply his best judgment in such situation. Devs decision of giving full salary to suspended employee=
insubordination and causing loss to public exchequer.

Hiring private citizen for public duty

1.

Collector DevAnand is overburdened with work related to land records and RTIs. He has requested the revenue department to give him an
additional clerk but department refused citing budgetary constraints. Vivek Mushraan is a fresh graduate preparing for UPSC exam from his
home. He offers to help part-time, for just 1500 per month. Dev hires him and gives salary from his own pocket.

hint: Dev must not engage a private citizen to perform official duties. Because such private citizen is not bound by the conduct rules, he can play mischief
and bring disrepute to DevAnands office.

Unauthorized absence #1

1.

Dev recently cleared UPSC exam and got allotted to Revenue service. In his first posting itself, He is shocked by the level of corruption in the
department. His juniors and superiors are stonewalling all of his attempt to provide honest administration. Dev is frustrated, decides to reappear in UPSC exam again to become an IAS/IPS/IFS hoping hell have more freedom there. He stops reporting on duty. Boss Prem Chopra is
happy that headache employee is gone- continues sanctioning DevAnands full salary, takes no action on Devs unauthorized absence from
duty.

hint: Unauthorized absence from duty = misconduct. Both are guilty of wasting public money.

Unauthorized absence #2

1.

Young DCP DevAnand leads a team to another state, to arrest a mafia don involved in ransom cases in his city. But for the fear of information
leakage, he doesnt inform his superiors or the local police. During the raid don escapes, there is gun-battle in a public place causing lot of
panic and fear among local public. Commissioner Pran reprimands DevAnand in front of his staff for this #epicfail, calling him
idiot/incompetent etc. Dev feels emotionally hurt and becomes Devdas, stops reporting on duty and goes to USA to spend time with his cousin.
Pran does not take any action thinking hotshots like DevAnand are not suitable for police work but it is difficult to remove an All India service officer
because of the protections under article 311. so its good he is gone by himself, Ill just ignore him.

hint: Unauthorized absence from duty = misconduct. Both are guilty of wasting public money.

Satyagraha

1.

Same case like earlier. DCP DevAnand failed to arrest the Don despite all good faith. Commissioner Pran reprimands DevAnand in front of his
staff for this #Epicfail. Dev feels emotionally hurt, goes on a hunger strike demanding apology from the commissioner.

hint: using hunger strike to compel superior officer to do xyz thing=misconduct. It doesnt matter how noble DevAnands act was. Because Taking cue
from him, other employees might also resort to similar hunger strike/ satyagraha in futre.= breaks the office discipline.

ocial service during duty hours

Honest police officer DevAnand is given punishment posting in a training academy. He has hardly any work to do, except taking salute from cadets
in morning parade and occasional signature on files. So, every day he leaves the office after lunch recess, to teach poor kids in the local slum area.
His juniors dont complaint and superiors dont care, and so Dev continues his social service.

hint: cannot do social work during office hours. It doesnt matter how noble Devs act is. Because taking cue from him, even other lazy employees may also
run away after lunch, in pretext of doing social service. Thus, in the long run, this will break entire work discipline in the office.

Seeking charity for good cause

RTO officer DevAnand has to sign hundreds of applications related to driving license and vehicle registration everyday. Clerk Prem Chopra keeps a
box on his own table and tell every visitor: This box is for Uttarakhand disaster victims. If you donate any amount- Ill keep your file on top when I bring
the bunch to Dev-saab for signature, thus your file will be cleared quickly. Dev knows about this but chooses to ignore because Prem genuinely sends
entire donation to the disaster victims.

hint: cannot demand funds/charity like this- even for good cause. Both guilty. It doesnt matter how noble and honest Prem is. But taking cue from him,
other employee might also start doing same- for personal use (e.g. need money for sons cancer operation) and DevAnand will have hard time preventing
them-will cause resentment among staff, will break team spirit.

Just because computer is not working

Collector DevAnand has installed a new e-governance project in his district. All complaints are registered through computer, they can track progress
through SMS /email alerts etc. But recently, Computer has stopped working in Tehsildar Prem Chopras office. Department has not yet sanctioned
funds to get it repaired/replaced. A Poor villager comes with a petition how local patwari is not giving him land record copy. Prem refuses to accept
complaint citing dysfunctional computer and orders the villager to goto district office where the computer must be working.

hint: Nothing prevents Prem Chopra from making a manual receipt of complaint. This is dilatory tactic/work evasion. Public offices have functioned even
before the invention of computers and internet. Conduct unbecoming of a government servant.

Misc. cases

PWD engineer DevAnands wife wants to setup a beauty parlor. Local Contractor Prem Chopra says Ive an empty shop, and Ill rent it to you at market
rates. Dont worry, Im renting in good faith, wont demand any favors from your husband later on.

hint: Dev should not allow her wife to make any investment/renting/leasing that is likely to embarrass or influence him in the discharge of his official
duties. Irrespective of what Prem Chopra promises.
1

Subinspector Prem Chopra keeps big posters of Gods-Goddesses behind his desk. One day DCP DevAnand notices this, callsup Prem in his office
and orders him to remove those posters. Within ten minutes, local MLA calls up Dev saying you should reconsider your order, because it might hurt
feelings of a particular community.

hint: Yes, Prem brought outside influence/pressure on his superior officer = misconduct.
1

Young steno Helen comes to office wearing t-shirt and jeans. Boss DevAnand orders her to go back home and report in Saree/Salwar only. Helen
directly goes to high court and files writ petition.

hint: Directly going to court for grievance redressal without exhausting remedies in departmental hierarchy= misconduct. (i.e. Helen should first complaint
to Devs Boss about the office dress code.)
1

After death of Government employee Prem Chopra. His wife Shashikala and mistress Bindu both have applied for pension rights. Over a dinnergossip, Pension dept. officer DevAnand narrates this episode to his college buddy Pran.

hint: Divulging information that he got in official capacity to a third party-just for gossiping, in absence of Good faith/ court order=not right.
1

DevAnand is the warden of police academy near Abad. Every Saturday he visit Abad to buy rations from shopkeeper Prem Chopra for the hostel.
Dev also brings his kid for watching cinema/zoo etc. Every time Prem Chopra gives some toy, comics, ice-cream, cola to the kid.

hint: Dev should avoid this type of frequent hospitality from a person he has official dealings with.

1
A junior member of staff has just returned to work after taking special leave to care for her elderly mother. For financial reasons she needs to
work full-time. She has been having difficulties with her mothers home care arrangements, causing her to miss a number of team meetings
(which usually take place at the beginning of each day) and to leave work early. She is very competent in her work but her absences are
putting pressure on her and her overworked colleagues. You are her manager, and you are aware that the flow of work through the practice is
coming under pressure. One of her male colleagues is beginning to make comments such as a womans place is in the home, and is
undermining her at every opportunity, putting her under even greater stress.
Question:
How should you proceed so as not to discredit yourself, your profession or the practice for which you work and at the
same time maintaining integrity and confidentiality in your actions? (200 Words)
The situation before the manager present the conflict between professional duties of completing the task efficiently on time and having empathetic attitude towards
the genuine personal problems of the team member.
The junior staff member should be told to give her best efforts towards the assigned work responsibilities. The meetings should be scheduled at an appropriate
hour so that all the team members can attend it. She should be asked to take some work home with her (if possible) and make up for the lost office hours during her
spare time at home. She should also be counseled to relieve her stress and get her motivated to sail through the tough times. The manager should also let her know
that since she is being given some relaxations it is her responsibility to prove it before other team members that she is performing her tasks well so that the
integrity of manager will not be compromised.
As far as the male colleague is concerned he should be made aware that such behavior towards fellow women employees will not be tolerated and if such incidences
are repeated then strict disciplinary actions would be taken against him.

The male passing sexist comments should be given a formal warning . Sexism is discriminatory and mentally torturous.It dampens the working environment of the
organization and impedes the out put of the employee while spoiling organization's name.

9
As SDM you have received a complaint that in a village under your jurisdiction, people belonging to a religious community who are in
majority there ( this community is a minority in the state and country) are constructing an illegal religious structure on village common land.
It is nearing completion. The complaint is filed by a local leader belonging to a community who are in minority (majority in the state and
country) in the village.
You have verified the complaint and found that indeed the structure is being illegally constructed on village common land. You also find that
this structure is funded by local MLA.
You had issued a show cause notice to the trust thats constructing the structure asking them why it shouldnt be demolished. They have
replied that a Panchayat of villagers (not official Gram Sabha) was convened and it had decided to construct the structure for the community

purpose as they didnt have a proper place for prayers and congregation. They have also replied that they are willing to pay the fine if the
government decides to impose any and have ardently requested not to order demolition as it might lead to communal clashes in the village.
The issue is sensitive as majority of the village wants it constructed at any cost. As SDM how will you proceed to resolve the issue?
SDM should follow a balanced approach by understanding the sentiments of the majority community and at the same time giving justice to the minority
community.
He should not precipitate the minor issue into communal violence by ordering demolition of the religious structure which is near completion. In fact the panchayat
of villagers was convened and even though it was not the gram panchayat, it did involve the consent of large number of people. Further, their demand is genuine as
they didnt have a proper place for prayers and congregation.
At the same time, he should take help of experts to calculate the cost of land used and charge the majority community to pay it along with some extra fine. The
money collected should be used to buy land for common use in village.
He should negotiate with the members of minority community about the genuine grievances of the other community the futility of demolition. He should offer
them the new land to build a religious structure for their community.
Though both sides may not agree on common solution, but this approach maximizes justice and minimizes the chances of communal riots.

Ethics In Personal and Public Rrelationships

Sumati loved Ranjan when they both were undergoing training as IAS probationer officers at LBSNAA. After their training, they married each
other and were allotted same state cadre.
Both were posted as SDM to two subdivisions in the same district. They both stayed together at the district HQ. The sub division where
Ranjan worked was rich in mineral resources and mining was rampant. It was home to many rich people.
Sumati came to know that Ranjan was getting tempted by bribe offers offered by mining barons in the region to overlook certain land related
issues. She observed that he was bringing home costly gifts. One day she confronted him but he told her that he was not doing anything illegal
and some rich people impressed by his working style were being just very generous in spite of his reluctance to receive anything from them.
He was also attending parties thrown by some very rich people in the district.
Sumati was now growing uncomfortable with Ranjans attitude. They both loved each other very much, in fact it was Sumati who had
proposed him first.
One day she came to know conclusively that Ranjan had taken bribes from some people. She also comes to know that the favour for which
Ranjan has compromised would create a great loss to state exchequer.She is an upright officer and has made herself a good name.

If she takes a drastic step, it might endanger her marriage.

What should Sumati do knowing her husband is involved in graft and her marriage to him might get jeopardized if she takes a drastic step?
umati, stands in a position where she is bound to respect the law of the land and the institution of marriage . Sumati is convinced about the ill intentions and
activities being undertaken by her husband which are punishable offences under prevention of corruption acct 1988. Since she loves him and the feeling is
reciprocated by her husband, it can be expected that she can convince him about the consequences of the act being committed by him. The reason behind him
indulging in the task of bribery is his value system, that is allowing him to bypass his conscience for his greed. Values underlying him has become his behaviour.
Now Sumati , being an upright officer must try to change his behaviour. She should rationally provide him facts about his wrong doing , make him aware him about
the consequences and proceed with fear appeal.Along with this , emotion too can play an important part in behavioural change. She should emotionally try to make
him understand his duties towards his nation and convince him stand firm by his integrity. However, even inspite of doing all this, if Ranjan rejects her appeal, she
is bound to register a complaint against him in the CVC ,as she is liable to protect the constitution of which she has taken oath

1) What do you understand by the following terms in the context of private life?
a) Commitment
b) Integrity
2) You are stranded in traffic in your car. You are driving the car. A poor girl looking very frail approaches you and start
begging for money. Looking at he frail appearance, out of compassion, you take out your wallet to search for a ten Rupees
note. The girl who is standing very near to you snatches the wallet and starts running. A man on a motorbike who see this
act, catches the girl and starts beating her in full view of public. Now the traffic is moving and your car is in the middle of
the road.
What will you do in such a situation? And why?

integrity is putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests ;
Ethics is a set of principles of right conduct.
It has been de ned as a set of values
and principles which helps guide behaviour, choice and actions. It helps to decide whether
ones actions are right or wrong. Organizations as well as individuals have ethical standards.
Th ese standards help ensure that individuals belonging to an organization have a consistent
approach in carrying out their responsibilities and making decisions. Th ey also ensure that
members of an organization maintain a consistent and appropriate behaviour towards one
another and towards clients and persons outside the organization.
Civil servants have special obligations because they are responsible for managing
resources entrusted to them by the community, because they provide and deliver services
to the community and because they take important decisions that a ect all aspects of a
communitys life. Th e community has a right to expect that the civil service functions fairly,
impartially and effi ciently. It is essential that the community must be able to trust and have
con dence in the integrity of the civil service decision-making process. Within the civil
service itself, it needs to be ensured that the decisions and actions of civil servants re ect
the policies of the government of the day and the standards that the community expects
from them as government servants. Th e expectation that the civil service will maintain the
same standards of professionalism, responsiveness and impartiality in serving successive
political governments is a key element of the way our democratic polity functions.

Commitment=?
The situation demands an immediate act of compassion to protect that young girl without causing much discomfort i.e is traffic block.
A pragmatic approach would be to drive the car, park the car along the road side were the incidences (were the girl is beaten).
Immediate rush to the man, hold the girls hand (so that she does not run away) and stand in between the man and the girl. Firstly thank him for taking notice of
the theft and taking action, but remind him that the girl is very young and could have acted out of hunger too. Remind him gently that it is a public space and such
act physical violence could land him in legal trouble. This should lower his anger.

Thanking him again, convey that you would take the necessary future course of action.
Following, I would park the car in a better parking space along, besides taking the girl along with you. Get her something to eat and drink, ask her why she acted so.
Tell her you wont harm her.
Call and inform the authorised govt agency or an NGO working in the field of child welfare and hand her over to them. These agencies are obliged to take the right
course of action for the betterment of the child taking in the concerns of her parent, if she fortunately have them.
I would make an occasional follow up of the girl with the agency to whom I had handed over her to.

Story

THE PARABLE OF STARFISH

A man once observed someone from a distance early in the morning on a
beach. The young man seemed to be bending down, picking up something
and throwing it into the ocean. He seemed to be doing it continuously
for quite some time.
Out of curiosity, the man went closer to see what was happening. Then
he asked the young man as to what he was doing. The young man replied
that a number of starfishes had been washed over to the beach. As the Sun
was rising and the water level was receding, the starfishes were likely to die
if they were not thrown back into the ocean.
The observer laughed at this and said to the young man, there are miles
and miles of beach and thousands of starfishes lying all along the coast.
You CANNOT possibly make a dierence!
The young man continued to do what he was doing. He picked up one
more starfish, gently threw it into the ocean and said, Well, at least it
made a dierence to that starfish!
Character
A long time ago there was a boy. He was smart, talented and handsome. However, he was very selfish and his temper was so difficult, that nobody wanted to be friends
with him. Often he got angry and said various hurtful things to people around him.
The boys parents very concerned about his bad temper. They considered what they could do and one day the father had an idea. He called his son and gave him a
hammer and a bag of nails. The father said: Every time you get angry, take a nail and drive into that old fence as hard as you can.
The fence was very tough and the hammer was heavy, nevertheless the boy was so furious that during the very first day he has driven 37 nails.
Day after day, week after week, the number of nails was gradually decreasing. After some time, the boy started to understand that holding his temper is easier that
driving nails into the fence.
One day the boy didnt need hammer and nails anymore as he learned to hold his temper perfectly. So he came to his father and told about his achievement. Now
every time, when you hold your temper all day long, pull out one nail.
Much time has passed. At last the boy could be proud of himself as all the nails were gone. When he came to his father and told about this, he offered to come and take
a careful look at the fence. You did a good job, my son, but pay your attention to the holes that left from the nails. The fence will never be the same. The same happens
when your say hurtful things to people, as your words leave scars in their hearts like those holes in the fence. Remember, we need to treat everyone with love and
respect, because it doesnt matter, that you say you are sorry, the scars will not disappear.
It was my sophomore year at Creighton and when my parents ask me to do something, I do it, simple as that. Granted, it might take me a couple of times asking,
but I do it none the less.
When I went to check out, I went to the line that was the shortest. I thought it was strange that during the holiday season, there was actually a line with only one
person.
I walked briskly into the line with my item in hand. As I walked into line, two to three more people followed my lead to the shortest check-out line at the grocery
store.
When I arrived, I saw an older lady and the cashier in some form of discussion. The lady looked like she has been crying for quite sometime I had no idea what
was going on, but I guess it explained why the line was so short.

The conversation when I arrived was something like this:

The lady said: 'Oh my god, I don't have any more money. Isn't there something we can work out?
The cashier replied: 'I'm sorry, ma'am. I have to follow our store policies. You are short just under 5.00.'
Now, I figured out what was going on. Over the past couple of minutes, these two ladies were having a discussion that involved her not being able to cover the
remaining 5.00.
While I was listening, I realized I was holding a 5.00 bill.. Now, I believe things happen for a reason, and to this day, me holding that five dollar bill was no
coincidence. The only thing preventing that lady from leaving the store to spend time with her family was 5.00, and I was holding it.
The lady felt embarrassed for crying at the store. As a way preserving what dignity she had left, she wanted to unscan all the item, not just the ones that would
cover the 5.00 she was missing. At the moment the cashier was about the unscan the first item, I said, 'I can't let you do that, ma'am.' My voice carried over to the
point that not only was my line stopped, but the other two check-out lines stopped to see what was going on.
I asked the cashier how much she needed to cover to double check.. I said after I got the verification, 'Please take this 5.00 dollars and enjoy the holidays with your
family.' The line was still and for a few seconds, there was nothing, but silence.
The cashier broke the silence when she looked up, pointed at me, and said, 'You're lucky. That young man was your angel sent to you today.' As she acknowledge
the comment the cashier said, the lady looked at me and gave me a head nod. It was as if she was telling me thank you without any words or movement of lips.
As she life, the line went back to normal and I grabbed money out of my wallet. The cashier caught me while she was handing me my item and said, 'Your parents
did a good job raising you. They should be proud.'
The definition of character is the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing. Features such as trustworthiness,
responsibility, respect, fairness, caring, and citizenship are associated with character.
The Golden Rule is used in conjunction with character - treat others as you would have them treat you. Do your best. Be a good example for others. Play by the
rules. Be compassionate and forgiving. Be involved in community affairs and be a good neighbor.
Character is used with leadership traits. Leaders build excellence by adhering to the popular characteristic of being all you can be. Good leaders have good
character.
Many feel that character develops over a period of time, and others believe it is formed early in life. But one safe thing to say is that character develops slowly. A
strong character (drive, energy, determination, self-discipline, willpower, and nerve) attracts followers. But a person with strong character is not necessarily good. A
strong and good character is desirable.
A person's beliefs are telling factors in whether the person is good or bad. Character is the sum total of many traits, such as, justice, judgment,
dependability, initiative, decisiveness, tact, integrity, enthusiasm, bearing, unselfishness, courage, knowledge, loyalty, and endurance.
There is a wonderful story of inspiration about a young boy who had leukemia and his wish was to be a fireman. The firemen in Phoenix had a fireman's uniform
made to fit him and gave him a yellow slicker and rubber boots to fit also. They took him with them all one day and there were three fires to put out. Little Billy was
loving it. Then the night he was dying, they came with sirens blaring and a ladder to climb to his hospital room. Sixteen firefighters (whose characters had to be
strong as well as good) climbed up the ladder and into Billy's room. With his mother's permission, they hugged him and held him and told them how much they
loved him. The Chief told Billy he was really a fireman now and that the Head Chief, Jesus, was holding his hand.
Billy answered with these words, "I know, He's been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing..." There is amazing character on all
fronts in this inspirational story.
So, to sum it all up, your gualities, or features, and your beliefs tell others who you are. Abraham Lincoln said it best when he said, "Character is like a
TREE and reputation is like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

Jayanth is a son-in-law of a local MLA and is now posted as block development officer in his father-in-laws constituency. He comes to know
that MLAs followers, who are mainly small contractors and many elected members of Gram Panchayat, are hand in glove with local
Panchayat officials in misusing MGNREGA funds. He finds that each Panchayat secretary along with elected members have used machines to

complete many works under the scheme and siphoned off funds using fake job cards. He also finds out that all this was done at the behest of
his father-in-law, the local MLA. Now, the state government has taken cognizance of the issue after a media report and has ordered inquiry
into the scam.

Jayanth has to probe the matter and file a report to higher authorities. His father-in-law is pressurizing him to file a false report as he himself
is under pressure from his followers, who if found guilty will be slapped with a criminal case. Some contractors have contacted and requested
him to not to mention their names in the report in return for a hefty bribe. Some Panchayat secretaries have requested him to spare them as
according to them Panchayat members had coerced them into becoming partners in crime. Jayanth is recently married and it is his first
government job.
First Thing Jayant should do that he should tell his higher officials that since this case involves his father-in-law as one of the potential accused, the matter should
get investigated by some other competent officer. In case his higher ups shows faith in him & ask him to conduct inquiry after knowing that he may be party of
interest, Jayant should proceed with inquiry in impartial way. He should present the report as per his true findings. However this might create problems in his
personal relations & people he might be complaining about might create problems for him in future.
He should talk to his father in law & tell him that such kind of misusing of MNREGA should be stopped immediately. He should also make it very clear to him that
personal relation & professional work are separate things for him. He would not like to have interference in his professional work.
As far as contractors requesting his not to mention their name, They should also be given stern message & should be warned that offering directly or indirectly any
kind of bribe might lead to another problem for them.
As far as Panchayat Secretaries request are concerned, They should be assured that he would conduct the inquiry impartially. If he finds that they were forced to
perform certain tasks, it will be mentioned in report. But in case they were found guilty, they will not be spared.
As Ramya is pleading innocence to Keshav, Keshav should ask her to do her duty properly. As somebody has any problem with her decision, let him complain to
higher authorities. He should suggest Tanya that she should prepare her defense & should submit it in case it is asked by higher authorities.
As the person threatening Ramya has some clout, He should ask Tanya to lodge a departmental complain in case he tries to mentally harass her. If things blows out
of proportion, Keshav should inform Tahsildar & block development officer about his understanding of the case informally as they have friendly relations. But at
the same time he should tell them to perform their duties properly & not get influenced by his briefing. This briefing was to let them aware about the background of
the situation.
As far the pressure of her mother on Ramya to quit job, Keshav should talk to her mother & tell her that her demand is not justified. Ramya should be allowed to
make her own decisions & she should not be forced to do anything against her wishes. You should also tell Ramya that you are on her side as far as her independent
decision making goes.

Ramanujan Shastri, secretary in the ministry of defence, is a respected and admired bureaucrat. Defence minister trusts Ramanujan and has
given him a free hand in the ministry.
Ramanujan, who is at the fag end of his career, recently lost his elder son and wife in an accident and ever since , he has kept a low profile and
has grown more fond of his other son who now just finished his graduation from an ordinary institution in the capital.
In a deal involving direct government to government contract with a major arms supplier, Ramanujan is tasked with speeding up the contract
agreement and finalize the deal. The manufacturer, who will benefit immensely if the process is expedited, on many occasions has personally
contacted Ramanujan and expressed his frustration in the slow movement of files in the ministry.
Ramanujans younger son wants to study in a worlds most reputed university for which he needs a lot of money and good references. Son has
his fathers complete support and he himself is contemplating the idea of moving out with his son to a new place, but money is the constraint.
The person from the company who is in touch with Ramanujan comes to know about this and in one of his meetings with Ramanujan, he
assures him to look after his sons entire higher education costs from admission to placement to a well paying job provided he speeds up
the finalization of the deal.
Because of unexpected political circumstances, the defence minister now wants to scrap the deal. From his experience Ramanujan senses that
the present controversy is temporary and somehow the deal will be inked later. Ramanujan who has few months of service left with him is in

a dilemma. He doesnt want to disappoint his son and at the same time he wants to be in good terms with the minister. The deal, if signed,
doesnt harm anyones interests. The products are of world class and is sure to add value to the countrys defence arsenal.
A. Ramanujan at any cost cannot ought to uphold the integrity and dignity of his office. What ever may happen in the personal life of a public servant, it should not
affect the way he/she conducts his/her duties in office.
Delay in movement of files in government offices is a reality. As a public servant, Ramanujan should amend work culture in his office and weed out red tapism, but
it is unethical to should partisanship to any one for his vested interests. The best he can do is advice his minister regarding the requirement of arms and leave it to
his discretion whether to scrap the deal or not.
The arms supplier produces world class goods which will add value to our defense arsenal. In that case, the manufacturer can present his case in a fair way rather
than bribing. Ramanujan should inform his higher authorities about the pressure exerted by the manufacturer and issue a warning to him.
Ramanujan's son can apply for a bank loan to pursue his higher education. He should counsel his son to work hard and earn a scholarship and provide him good
coaching.
Euthanasia is a very sensitive topic because either way you slice it, it is still assisted suicide.
There are contradictions to this issue due to the double standard we place on death. Execution of a murderer and killing someone in war are justified but it can't be on abortion or euthanasia.
Euthanasia has to be performed by a doctor, but a doctor's hippocratic oath is to heal the patient not kill them. This can put doctors in an akward position to treat a patient that wants to terminate
their life.
I believe that euthanasia should be legal but contolled and with well and detailed defined rules so an intended murder does not become legally justified. I believe that these conditions would
appease a majority on both sides.
1. A patient has to be of sound mind and capable of making this decision on his/her own. In the event that said patient is not mentally able to make this decision, a legal guardian would be
allowed to make the decision.
2. The patient has to be terminally ill and physically inept (can't physically live without some kind of assistance). The patient's medical condition has to be examined by two physicians.
3. The patient (or the legal guardian) must receive a psychiatric evaluation as to why they are deciding to approve euthanasia. Euthanasia can not be approved if psychiatrist believes the patient
or the legal guardian are not of sound mind.
4. Documentation of the patient's state, evaluations from doctors and psychiatrist are presented to a judge and must receive legal approval for euthanasia.
5. Euthanasia can NOT be performed by a doctor. To prevent the tarnish of the hippocratic oath, a physician's assistant would be granted permission to perform euthanasia.
6. The method in which euthanasia is administered must be humane and cause the patient to die immediately with little or no pain.

There is a straight answer for this: Suffering is part of the human condition and part of life's experience. Also medication can be improved to help a person's quality of life and make their deaths
as humane as possible. Futhermore even if a person is in a state of sedation they are still biologically existing and still have what some would say an obligation to live their life until its natural
conclusion.

i think that it is our fate and nothing happens in theis world just like that for no reason. Everything in this world happen for a reason that could be beneficial for that person but he or she may not
realise it.
You may say know that how if a person is suffering severly from ilness would that be a good thing for him or her ?? Bu toyu never know. I mean that i take as murder. We all say and agree that
murder is something really bad and is not allowed so how come killing a person is the right thing?? Even if that person is suffering.What would you call it? Wouldn't you call it killing.
I will say that life is something complicated. It is not something that we could ever realise and understand 100 percent but each and every single person lives for a reason and when someone
would die i definitly don't have the choice to choose whether to kill that person or not even if he or she is suffering. Maybe yes a person would absolutely like to avoid suffering and have a
relaxed life but sometimes and mostly always things don't always turn out to be exactly like what we want. So I think it depends on how a person believes in God if he or she have faith in God
then they will know that this is the will of God and will take it. We can't say that there is a life with no suffering each and every person in his life have suffered in their life but it is how you deal
with them that matters and not to run away because you're afraid to face them or afraid that you would suffer because they alwaus say that you will always face your biggest fears in your life.
So i would never kill a person and take the blame for it my entire life as i might someday sit alone and ask myself a question, did i kill my mother?