Shelving hard decisions is the least ethical course.
125 marks · answer in 1200 words · directive: Essay
The core of a good answer
Postponing a hard decision is itself a decision, usually in favour of the status quo and against those who suffer from it. A wrong decision taken openly can be corrected; indefinite delay avoids accountability while the costs pile up, which is why it is often the least ethical course.
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What the question asks
The topic asks for a moral argument about indecision. A good essay explains why delay is not neutral, illustrates its costs in governance, institutions and personal life, separates prudent deliberation from evasion, and suggests how to build decisiveness and accountability into public systems. 'Least ethical' should be examined, not just asserted.
Answer outline
Introduction
Open with Arjuna at Kurukshetra, paralysed by despair in the first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, and Krishna's insistence that refusing to act is also a choice with consequences.
Why delay is a choice
- Inaction keeps existing harms in place; the burden falls on those already disadvantaged.
- It hides responsibility: no one can be held to account for a decision never taken.
- Justice delayed is justice denied: pendency in courts and files hurts people with fewest resources.
Costs of shelved decisions in India
- Women's reservation: first introduced in the Lok Sabha on 12 September 1996, passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but lapsed, enacted only in 2023 (assent 28 September 2023), and to take effect after the next delimitation.
- Police reform: the Supreme Court's seven directives in Prakash Singh v Union of India (22 September 2006) remain, according to the Justice K. T. Thomas committee and CHRI studies, only partly implemented by States and UTs.
- Lokpal: a Bill was first introduced in 1968, the Act passed in 2013, and the first Lokpal appointed only in March 2019.
- Bills pending with Governors: in April 2025 the Supreme Court set timelines; its advisory opinion of 20 November 2025 held courts cannot fix timelines but said prolonged, unexplained inaction can be judicially directed to end.
When hard decisions were taken
- The 1991 economic reforms, including the New Industrial Policy of July 1991, were taken in the middle of a balance-of-payments crisis and reshaped the economy.
- Climate action: decades of delay after the 1992 UN Framework Convention have made adaptation harder and costlier.
Prudence versus evasion
- Not all delay is wrong: consultation, gathering evidence and waiting for consent can be wise.
- The test: is the delay for a reason that serves those affected, with a timeline and transparency, or to avoid blame?
- Ethical theories agree: consequentialism counts the cost of inaction; duty ethics sees duty unfulfilled; virtue ethics names courage.
Building decisiveness
- Time-bound processes, such as citizen charters and Right to Services laws in several States.
- Protection for good-faith decisions so honest officers are not afraid to decide.
- Leaders who model moral courage and explain their reasons.
Conclusion
Hard decisions do not become easier with time; they only become costlier for those who wait. Ethical leadership means deciding with care, explaining openly and correcting course, rather than hiding behind delay.
Examples and data to cite
- Constitution (81st Amendment) Bill, 1996 on women's reservation introduced 12 September 1996; Rajya Sabha passed the 2010 Bill on 9 March 2010; Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 received assent on 28 September 2023.
- Prakash Singh v Union of India, Supreme Court, 22 September 2006: seven directives on police reform.
- Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 (assent 1 January 2014); first Lokpal, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, appointed in March 2019.
- State of Tamil Nadu v Governor of Tamil Nadu, 8 April 2025; Presidential Reference opinion of a five-judge bench, 20 November 2025.
- New Industrial Policy, July 1991.
Facts to remember
- Article 200: the Governor may assent, withhold assent, return a non-Money Bill for reconsideration, or reserve it for the President.
- The 106th Amendment reserves one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the State Legislative Assemblies and the Legislative Assembly of Delhi (Articles 330A, 332A and 239AA), for 15 years from commencement (Article 334A).