The arrest in Chennai of an Indian Police Service (IPS)
officer on probation, for cheating during the civil services examination,
raises questions on future recruitments to the All India Services and the
training of officers. It is tellingly ironic that the incident occurred around
the same time when the nation was commemorating the birth anniversary of Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel, who stood for integrity in government and was
considered the chief architect of post-Independence civil services. The
incident also took place some months after the government approved all the recommendations of the
Seventh Pay Commission, which was done in the hope that more pay
would mean greater levels of honesty and dedication on the part of public
servants.
Unlike in normal criminal justice matters, the burden here
of proving innocence rests with the offender, as long as the decision is to
proceed against him in an internal inquiry and terminate his services
thereafter. However, going by the severity of the offence, it is doubtful
whether the ends of justice will be met by resorting only to departmental
action. There is always a public perception that double standards are applied
when punishing criminality in high places. This is why there is no option but
to prosecute the officer in a court of law. Of course, he should be given every
opportunity to defend himself, but the dice seems heavily loaded against him.
The punishment aside, what needs to be revisited in this context is the
provision in civil service rules that permits a serving officer to constantly
look for opportunities outside the service to which he or she had been allotted
in the first instance.
A wider malaise?
The question is, is this instance of misconduct by a public
official, chosen on merit and pampered later with enviable perquisites, a mere
aberration or is it symptomatic of a wider malaise? What is worrying is that
there are growing accounts of dishonesty among public officials, especially in
the State governments.
This is not to say that amid widespread corruption, senior
civil servants cannot but yield to a dishonest political executive. Ultimately
it is the moral fibre of an individual officer that counts. A substantial
percentage of senior officials still stick to the path of virtue and act
according to the codes of good conduct. It is this phenomenon that gives us
hope that all is not lost.
Improving instruction
The pride of the Indian Police is the National Police
Academy in Hyderabad that trains IPS recruits. It offers comprehensive training
to shape the profile of police officers. In recent years, some measures have
been initiated to impart instructions in ethics. The Chennai incident throws
serious doubts over the quality of such inputs aimed at character-building. It
is not my case that a greater emphasis on ethics will measurably improve civil
service conduct. However, we also cannot say nothing can be done in the matter;
that would be disastrous.
The NPA faculty, including its director, must enhance the
quality of instruction in ethics. The institution will receive ample support
from the Home Ministry, which has been most generous in granting the finances
needed to sharpen police training in the country. In sum, there must be
indoctrination of trainees in ethical behaviour. Other training inputs take a
back seat.
Further, supervisors in the State Police do not play the
role required of them to train IPS probationers once they are assigned for
field training after finishing the course at the NPA. Only a few senior
officers take interest in instilling the right values in IPS trainees. This is
not only because of sheer indolence and the low priority accorded to
responsibility of monitoring training, it is also because of the declining
moral standards of senior police officers themselves.
If the IPS stands somewhat discredited in the present time
despite its glorious record in maintaining order in the most difficult of
terrains, including in Jammu and Kashmir and Naxalism-affected areas, it is
because a large number of senior officers concentrate on their own careers at
the cost of guiding trainees. A vibrant and well meaning national debate on the
future of the IPS therefore seems appropriate.
Source: THE HINDU-7th November,2017
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/teaching-ethics-to-aspiring-civil-servants/article19993628.ece
