(a) “In doing a good thing, everything is permitted which is not prohibited expressly or by clear implication.” Examine the statement with suitable examples in the context of a public servant discharging his/her duties. (b) With regard to morality of actions, one view is that means are of paramount importance and the other view is that the ends justify the means. Which view do you think is more appropriate? Justify your answer.
Approach · directive: “examine / justify”
What it asks · (a) Test the claim that a public servant may do anything for a good cause unless a rule forbids it, using examples; (b) choose between 'means matter most' and 'the ends justify the means', and defend the choice.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- (a) Examine, with examples, whether a public servant doing a good thing may do anything not expressly or impliedly prohibited
- (b) Choose between the means-first view and the ends-justify-the-means view, and justify the choice
Open with · (a) In private life what is not forbidden is permitted, but a public servant's power comes from law, so a good motive alone cannot justify an act; (b) means and ends are ethically linked.
Cover
- (a) Case for: officers need discretion to act quickly for the public good where rules are silent, as in rescue and relief in a flood or a fix for a citizen's genuine problem.
- (a) Case against: a public servant holds delegated power; acts beyond mandate, even for good ends, are arbitrary and weaken the rule of law, as when tender rules are bypassed to build a road fast.
- (a) Balanced view: permitted only if lawful, within one's mandate, non-arbitrary, proportionate, transparent and in the public interest; when in doubt seek approval, record reasons and act in good faith.
- (b) Means-focused view: actions must respect duty, rights and truth whatever the result; Gandhi held that means are like the seed and ends like the tree, so impure means corrupt the end.
- (b) Ends-focused view: outcomes for the greatest number decide; but it can excuse injustice, rights violations and 'noble cause' misconduct, such as fake encounters or illegal surveillance.
- (b) My stand: means matter more in public life, since governance rests on rule of law, trust and accountability; ends guide the choice among lawful means but cannot justify unlawful or disproportionate ones.
- (b) Tests: the publicity test (could I defend it openly?), reversibility, effect on the weakest, and conscience; in real dilemmas seek guidance from rules and seniors.
Close with · A public servant pursues constitutional ends through lawful, fair means; where rules are silent, discretion answers to public interest, proportionality and transparency, and unlawful shortcuts breed distrust.
Add value (verified)
- Gandhi, Hind Swaraj (ch. 16, Brute Force): the means may be likened to a seed and the end to a tree, with an inviolable connection between them. Hind Swaraj, Chapter XVI: Brute Force — M.K. Gandhi, mkgandhi.org ↗“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.”
- Kant's Humanity Formulation of the categorical imperative: never treat humanity, in oneself or others, as a means only but always as an end in itself. Kant's Moral Philosophy — Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy ↗“This formulation states that we should never act in such a way that we treat humanity, whether in ourselves or in others, as a means only but always as an end in itself.”
- J.S. Mill, Utilitarianism (ch. 2): the Greatest Happiness Principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness. J.S. Mill, Utilitarianism, Chapter 2 (full text) — utilitarianism.com ↗“The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.”
- Supreme Court, Prakash Kadam v. Ramprasad Vishwanath Gupta (13 May 2011): fake encounters are cold-blooded murder by those meant to uphold the law, and policemen proved guilty deserve the harshest punishment. Prakash Kadam v. Ramprasad Vishwanath Gupta, Supreme Court, 13 May 2011 — Indian Kanoon ↗“Fake `encounters' are nothing but cold blooded, brutal murder by persons who are supposed to uphold the law.”
- Rule 3(1)(xviii)-(xix) of the CCS (Conduct) Rules, as amended: refrain from anything contrary to any law, rules, regulations and established practices; implement lawful orders. Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 (updated) — Department of Personnel and Training ↗“(xviii) refrain from doing anything which is or may be contrary to any law, rules, regulations and established practices; (xix) maintain discipline in the discharge of his duties and be liable to implement the lawful orders duly communicated to him;”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2018, GS Paper IV — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 437 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
For a private citizen, whatever the law does not forbid is permitted; for a public servant, power exists only as far as law grants it. A good motive cannot supply authority the law withholds, and the same logic ties means to ends.
(a) Examining the statement in a public servant's duties
- Case for discretion: no rulebook foresees everything, and paralysis in the face of silence is itself a failure. A collector who requisitions private boats in a flood, or a hospital head who hires ambulances in an epidemic before formal sanction, acts rightly.
- Case against: public power is delegated and bounded. The CCS (Conduct) Rules ask officers to "refrain from doing anything which is or may be contrary to any law, rules, regulations and established practices", a test wider than express prohibition. Bypassing tender rules to build a road fast invites favouritism.
- The trap in "a good thing": the actor judges his own cause, which is how noble-cause misconduct begins. In Prakash Kadam (2011) the Supreme Court called fake encounters "cold blooded, brutal murder by persons who are supposed to uphold the law".
- Balanced view: where rules are silent, discretion is permitted only if lawful, within mandate, proportionate, transparent and in good faith, with reasons recorded and ratification sought. Silence is a space for judgement, not a licence.
(b) Means or ends: which view is more appropriate?
| Aspect | Means matter most | Ends justify means |
|---|---|---|
| Thinkers | Kant, Gandhi | Utilitarians such as Mill |
| Test | Duty, rights, dignity | Net happiness of outcomes |
| Risk | Rigidity in emergencies | Rights sacrificed for results |
- Means-first view: Kant's humanity formula forbids treating any person "as a means only"; Gandhi likened means to a seed and the end to a tree, with an "inviolable connection" between them.
- Ends-first view: Mill held actions right "in proportion as they tend to promote happiness". It suits policy trade-offs, but it can excuse fake encounters, illegal surveillance or rigged procedures if the result looks good.
- My position: in public life means matter more. Governance rests on rule of law, trust and accountability; a conviction obtained by torture destroys the justice it seeks. The end is uncertain, but the wrong done is certain.
- Role of ends: they guide the choice among lawful means and set priorities; they never license unlawful or disproportionate ones.
- Tests for hard cases: the publicity test, reversibility, the effect on the weakest, and conscience; when in doubt, seek guidance from rules and seniors.
A public servant's ends are set by the Constitution, and so are the means. Gandhi's seed-and-tree insight is practical, not pious: unlawful shortcuts yield a harvest of distrust that no good result can repay.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.