Kerala journalist's death: 'Admit error and face the law'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is unfortunate that such an incident occurred at the hands of a reputed and popular IAS officer. The circumstances do not portray the person or the administration (as a whole) in a good light, if the facts reported by the media (about the incident) are correct.
Ideally, the private life of a citizen is a private affair. But, the situation changes if it is a public servant as it would become a matter of debate.Though no penal consequences are attracted because an activity is ‘deemed immoral’, the morale of the service and the reputation of the officer is damaged in public eye.
If the public servant ‘goes down’ in public esteem due to his private life, not only his personal image, but the general image of the service itself takes a hit, affecting the overall efficiency of governance. Therefore, it is advisable that the norms of propriety and publicly-accepted norms of conduct are adhered to by senior civil servants. Whenever something happens in the private life of officers, there is always a price to be paid in terms of public esteem. Therefore, it is better to avoid such situations.
However, no person – including an officer – should be penalized purely on account of morality norms, unless he or she has simultaneously breached the limits of law. But, when such an act is mixed with a criminal act, the matter becomes serious. In the case of former US president Bill Clinton, the American public did not tolerate the fact that their president lied under oath.
If the initial reports are to be believed, there was some hesitation on the part of the accused in admitting his error. When one admits the same and faces the law, he/she becomes the champion of the legal system that all are bound to follow. If he/she fails to do so, they have little reason to ask others to follow rules. In this case, I hope the investigation will bring out the truth, thereby upholding the rule of law.
(Jacob Punnoose is former state police chief. As told to KP Sai Kiran)