Lesson from the H C Gupta case

There should be separate cadres for the district and policy management functions of the IAS

The conviction and sentencing of H C Gupta, former coal secretary, by a CBI court for corruption has upset the IAS greatly. That’s fine, and is as it should be. 

But what is surprising – or perhaps not – is that despite the IAS being the most powerful trade union in the country, their association has not threatened a strike. Indeed, except for one or two articles in the newspapers, at the individual level every officer seems to have accepted the conviction of a man who they all say is as honest as the former prime minister Manmohan Singh. 

Dr