Constitutional Morality in Public Administration

Significance of Constitutional Morality for Public Servants

For public servants, constitutional morality is not an abstract concept but a practical ethical framework that dictates their conduct and decision-making. It serves as the bedrock for a fair, transparent, and accountable governance system.

Role in Promoting Good Governance

• Ethical Decision-Making: Constitutional morality guides public servants to prioritize public interest over personal, political, or populist considerations. It encourages decisions that align with the spirit of the Constitution, such as ensuring impartiality in welfare scheme implementation.
• Inclusive Governance: It ensures that governance is inclusive, translating constitutional principles like equality (Article 14) into non-discriminatory service delivery. Public servants upholding constitutional morality actively work towards protecting marginalized groups from discriminatory practices and ensuring equal access to public services.
• Maintaining Impartiality and Neutrality: Public servants are expected to act as guardians of constitutional ethos, especially during crises or when faced with political pressures. This prevents majoritarianism and ensures secularism and neutrality in administration, safeguarding the foundational values of democracy. For instance, an Election Commission official maintaining neutrality demonstrates constitutional morality.
• Upholding Probity: It discourages nepotism, corruption, and opacity, thereby fostering public trust. Proactive disclosure of information, beyond mere compliance with the RTI Act, is an outcome of strong constitutional morality.
• Commitment to Social Justice: Constitutional morality drives public servants to realize the Directive Principles of State Policy, focusing on uplifting marginalized sections of society through effective implementation of welfare schemes.

Role in Ensuring Accountability in Public Administration

• Adherence to the Rule of Law: It binds administrative actions within the legal framework, preventing arbitrary power usage. Public servants, by strictly adhering to service rules and constitutional provisions, demonstrate accountability and reinforce the principle that no one is above the law.
• Strengthening Transparency: Constitutional morality encourages transparency through proactive disclosure of information, robust implementation of the Right to Information Act, and support for mechanisms like social audits and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports. This openness reduces information asymmetries and enhances public scrutiny.
• Professional Integrity and Resistance: It empowers public servants to resist unethical or unlawful directives from political executives or superiors. Instances of whistleblowing or civil servants taking a stand against corruption exemplify this aspect, demonstrating adherence to constitutional values over personal gain or fear.
• Facilitating Judicial Oversight: Constitutional morality ensures that administrative actions meet constitutional standards, thereby facilitating effective judicial review. This reduces litigation and enhances the legitimacy of government decisions. The Supreme Court often uses constitutional morality as a guiding principle in interpreting laws and evaluating executive actions, as seen in various landmark judgments.
• Responsive Administration: It fosters an administration that is responsive to citizen needs and encourages public participation in policymaking, for example, through Gram Sabhas and public consultations.